Inherit the Night
by avatarforeva
Summary: With his world ripped to shreds, how can Dick Grayson manage to take care of himself and his little girl? Will he be able to continue with his crusade on crime, is this the end of Robin? Or is it the begining of something greater? Regardless it is always darkest before the dawn.
1. Mistake Number One

_So this is my first fan fic, just a twist a few friends of mine and I thought would be cool to play around with in the whole Robin to Nightwing transition. It's a work in progress so more will be coming. Criticism is welcome as well as any thoughts or suggestions. Hope you enjoy._

_I do not own any of the characters, as awesome as they may be. All are the property of DC Nation._

* * *

**Mistake Number One:**

Everything felt cold. Everything was empty. Cold and empty, that's what his world had been reduced to. His eyes felt dry and itchy as if he hadn't slept days- because he hadn't.

"Dick c'mon you've got to eat something." Walle pushes Dick's plate in front of him, a burger and fries gone cold from sitting out for so long. Dick exhales deeply shaking his head slightly at the food.

"I'm not hungry." _How can I even think about food right now?_

"You can't live off coffee… please" Dick hears Walle's jacket rustle as he fidgets on the stool impatiently. He can feel Walle's eyes on him hoping he will reach for any part of the food in front of him. _I can't_… He moves to push the plate across the counter.

"I'm just not hungry Walle." He scratches his jaw shocked at how warm his skin is to touch, all he feels on the inside is ice. His mind travels to earlier in the day and how cold her hand felt. Suddenly it's harder to breath and he has to loosen the knot on his tie to keep from feeling like he is choking.

"You can't starve yourself!"

"I'm not."

"Then eat the damn burger." The plate slides across the bar and stops directly in front of him. He looks down at the bun, his hands balled into fists on his knees. _How can I want to eat? How can he expect me to want to eat when… when Star is gone!_ He closes his eyes… _I can't._

Before Dick has the chance to really start to remember the tragic events that had brought him here a three note ringtone plays twice. Out of his peripheral vision he watches Walle reach into his jacket pocket for his communicator. Flash must need him. Some villain somewhere is causing trouble. Walle looks at the communicator briefly and replaces it back in his pocket rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

"If he needs back up you should go."

"And leave you here to starve yourself? I don't think so." Dick picks up a fry and rolls it between his thumb and index finger.

"Alright…" Dick turns to face Walle, "I'll eat this if you go back up Barry." Walle's left eyebrow goes up.

"You really going to eat?" Dick meets his eyes, a darker green today than they usually are. His face is fallen slightly, not like the class clown type Walle usually is. He's mourning too, on the inside, one the outside his is trying to take care of Dick. A flicker of gratitude manages to spark inside Dick toward his best friend but it is soon smothered out by the dread he can't seem to escape. Realizing it is the only way to get him to go, Dick pops the fry into his mouth; it tastes metallic and cold.

"Then I'll head home." He reaches for another fry, "Or to the Tower." _Neither one is an easy place to be._ Walle just watches him obviously not convinced but after dick forces a few more fries down his throat Walle sighs and reluctantly stands up.

"Dick I know…" Walle puts his hand on Dick's shoulder but loses whatever it was he was going to say. "Look I know it's… I know…" _Please don't. There's nothing you can say to make this alright. _He sighs and drops his arm. "I'll stop by later today." He hesitates for another moment searching for something more to say but finds nothing and heads out the door. Dick counts to sixty after he hears the door close behind Walle and pushes the plate aside.

Sitting alone he finds it too easy to let his mind wander and go to places he knows he should stay away from. They are the only places he can see her though. Thinking of her funeral earlier in the day he feels his eyes begin to burn with tears so to prevent the downpour he closes them and places his head heavily in his hands. Memories play out on the back of his eyelids and he watches them pass by becoming engulfed in their emotions. He sees the first time he ever met Star, the day she kissed him to learn English and he just couldn't let her run away. Did he already know, at fourteen, that she was the love of his life? A year later and they are fighting criminals side by side, seamlessly anticipating each other's actions. Fast forward another year and a half in Tokyo looking into her bright emerald eyes before he finally kisses her; really and truly kisses her. _What I would do to go back to that day…_ A montage of shared moments, laughter, smiles and everything that made him fall even more in love with her. Then at eighteen they spend a couple of days coming up with an alias for her- _Karen… no… you'll always be Star to me._ He's watching her walk up the aisle toward him in white, oh how her hair blew in the breeze from the open window and her eyes sparkled. The sound of those two words, the sounds of that "I do" was the most amazing thing he had ever heard. Then a little over a month later she's nervous, holding his hand in hers and avoiding his eyes, he reaches out to stroke her hair as she looks up at him her eyes bright and hopeful; "I'm pregnant" it comes out as barley a whisper and Dick can feel the surprise and happiness stir inside him from just the memory. A little while later he is berating her for wanting to go on patrol while she is carrying a baby; his baby. Of course she got her way, she knew how to work him- throw her arms around his neck, shake her hair out of her face, and just smile up at him. _God I'm a sucker… _ October comes and with it the little ball of trouble that is Cassandra Grayson, their little girl. He watches her grow up on the back on his eyelids; from a toddler to the nine year old she is now.

He leans forward more on the counter and pulls back suddenly when the stitches at his ribcage yelp in protest. His eyes shoot open, ice blue and blood shot. He shakes his head at himself and chews on the inside of his cheek_. Star dies… and my life flashes before my eyes_. He rubs the back of his neck realizes he's sweating despite the constant chill running through him. The pain in his side won't go away. It continues to throb, keeping time with the rapid beat of his heart. The faster it beats the more it hurts but he doesn't care. He has not right to feel pain, not when he let Starfire die.

The mission was bad to begin with, he should have known. Why attack and abandoned military base? Slade always had reasons and there was nothing out there, it just didn't make sense. Cassandra shouldn't have been there. She'd been on countless missions with them before but not this one. This was Slade. He shouldn't have split them into two teams… but he did. Raven, Star, and Cass went to scout the perimeter and he, Beast Boy, and Cyborg went into the main building, the most obvious place to find Slade… that was mistake number one. The hall proved to be a dead end but by the time he realized it was a trap Cass had already come running to find him.

"Daddy! Dad!" She knew never to call him dad or Star mom while they were on a mission, and Cass was a smart kid; good under pressure. Something was wrong- he took off to meet her in the doorway.

"Cass…" he caught her flying through the door, her turquoise eyes dark with fear. "What is it?"

"He's got mom!" _No!_ The truth finally dawned on him… _this was all for me! All of it to get to me!_

"Where?" Cass shot her finger in the direction she came from. Dick took off running as fast as he could. _Please don't let me be too late… Please!_

He burst into the clearing of what used to be the training field and was greeted by laser fire forcing him to take cover behind a large boulder. With his back to the boulder he saw Cass chasing his footprints. "No! You go back to the main building!" She stopped and tried to yell something back but Dick couldn't hear over all the firing. He peeked around the boulder, enough to look but not get hit, to see Slade standing near the cliff's edge with Raven and Star lying on the ground just behind him. His breath caught in his throat until he saw that they were both still breathing. _Okay just unconscious. Gotta draw him away from them_. His eyes searched the landscape for anything he could use to his advantage when movement caught his eye. _Star!_ She was starting to get up… she tried to push herself up once and fell. _No, he hit her too hard. She's too disoriented. _She tried again and fell, their eyes meeting on the way down. Slade still didn't know she was awake. _Stay down please!_ He shook his head mouthing "no." That's when his world shattered. Star got to her feet and managed to knock the laser gun out of Slade's hand but she was too sluggish to fight and Dick wasn't fast enough. Slade was.

The blade pierced her right side and moved up toward her rib cage. Dick managed to pull him off of her as she fell and stuck her leg out to trip Slade. Before he went over the edge Dick felt the knife slit his side but he didn't care. Adrenaline took over. Slade fell into the rocky waters below and Dick pulled star into his lap.

"Would you believe I didn't plan to trip him?" Star's head rested on his arm and her voice already sounded strained. Dick looked at her wound… _No_… a four inch gash bleeding at an alarming rate.

"Hold on Star! You going to be alright…" he pushed down on the cut with his free hand. There was so much blood_. No this can't happen_. "Cy! I need you!" The pressure wasn't making a difference, the blood kept coming and her body was starting to go slack. Star was letting her head fall back as if she couldn't keep it up any longer. "No! Stay with me!"

"Hey…" she reached up and caressed his cheek, her voice even weaker than before. "It's okay… I… I love you Dick." She smiled at him and his heart fell to pieces.

"No! Don't start saying goodbyes!" The color began to sink away from her face. Panic set in… "You are going to be fine! You can't leave me! Please… you can't!" He was begging with her to stay but she just looked into his eyes trying to tell him it was okay. He refused to see it.

"Dick…" her voice was almost gone.

"No!" Faraway it seemed a little girl was screaming for her mom. He thought of how out of place it seemed until he realized it was Cassandra's scream. It was his little girl screaming for her mom. "We need you… please… don't…" Tears spilled over his mask. "I need you! I love you Star…"

"I love you too. Both of you… so much." Her breathing became labored and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Don't go!" Everything inside him was screaming in agony at watching her slowly die. His hands and chest were covered in blood; warm and red sucking the heat out of his skin leaving him freezing and terrified at the thought of losing her_. I shouldn't have split us up… I should have been there!_ "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Her breathes became short and raspy.

"Don't be." Her eyes fluttered. Finally it was too much. She couldn't hold on.

"Please…" he watched as the light finally left her green eyes and they closed for the last time. "No… no…" he shook her in his arms. "Star?" His eyes widened in horror when it dawned on him what had happened. "No! Wake up! Please!" He shook her desperately and screamed hysterically. "No! Star please… you have to wake up!" his chest tightened making it hard to suck in a real breath. He held her body close to his chest stroking and crying into her fiery red hair. "I need you… no, no, no! Don't take her!" He looked up at the sky through tear blurred vision pleading with whoever was listening. "Don't take her!" He turned his face back into her hair mumbling shuddering with remorse "I need you!" A hand started tugging on his shoulder pulling him backwards disturbing his chorus of pleas. At first his instinct is to fight but one he recognized the cool metal touch of Cy's hand all of the fight and strength left him and he fell into him unable to confront her death. On his knees, with Star's lifeless body still next to him he leaned into Cy for support powerless to do anything other than sit there and cry into his friends shoulder. He shut his eyes against the reality around him, not wanting to believe it was true, only opening them to seen Raven hugging a shuddering and crying Cass in front to the boulder he took cover behind. _Oh Cass… I'm so sorry…_

Something slams down on the counter with a loud thunk jarring Dick from him most painful memory. He looks down at the section of bar in front of him to find a shot glass filled with clear liquid. "You looked like you could use it," the bartender explains from a few feet away. It's then that he considers what he must look like to others at the moment. A twenty seven year old guy sitting all alone in all black, sweat beading over his skin, tie hanging loosely around his neck, his hair is probably sticking up at a few odd angles, and he has had his eyes closed for the better part of his stay. To say he looked dishelved was an understatement and he knew it. He turns his attention back to the shot glass in front of him raising his eyebrows at it. He's never done any hard alcohol before; at most he's had maybe a single glass of wine or a beer once every few weeks. He touches the cool glass spinning it in circles on the counter. It had never occurred to him to drink… he never felt the need to. Besides he had to be there for Cass and if he was drunk he couldn't do that. People did say a little alcohol did take the edge off sometimes though… at least that's how he understood it. _How can I be there for her if I can't face it myself?_ Would it help him? The pros and cons of drinking it to help him relax a little go back and forth in his mind. _If it takes the edge off… _The alcohol burns on its way down but the relief he thinks it promises make it worth it.

Twenty minutes after the first shot, the edge is still there. He still can't get past his guilt and anguish. How was he supposed to be there for Cassandra like that? He couldn't, that's how. He stares at the empty glass in front of him feeling truly helpless for what was most likely the hundredth time since Starfire died. A phenomenon he had never experienced before she was gone. He wished she was there with him to help him, tell him what he should do… _But she's not here. Star is gone._ He picks the glass back up. _And she is not coming back._

"Can I get another?"


	2. Identity Crisis

_Chapter two of Inherit the Night. After Star's funeral how will Dick manage day to day life without her and can he hold onto himself while trying to go on normally? _

_Reviews are welcomed and encouraged._

_I do not own these characters they are the property of DC Nation._

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**Identity Crisis:**

Light spills in through the window warming Dick's cheek and burning through his eyelids. He groans and turns over onto his side, his shirt twisting tightly around his abdomen. The sun stubbornly continues to light up his eyelids. _Is it already morning?_ He slowly opens his eyes, squinting against the morning light_. Guess so… Wait... this isn't my room…_ He sits up stretching out stiff joints and muscles. _I fell asleep in the living room?_ He looks around surprised to see he is still in his dress pants and shirt from the day before. There's an unpleasant tang in his mouth and his brain is a little foggy. Light glints off a glass cup on the coffee table in front of him; there is a little clear liquid still in the bottom. He stares at it, mentally running through what happened yesterday.

After a few drinks at the bar he remembered walking the three blocks to his condo. He couldn't get the key to work at first but eventually he had managed to unlock the door. What time was that? Walle had left at around one thirty and he got home… when? _C'mon when?_ He stares intently at the glass as if it holds his answer. _Five!_ The answer comes out of nowhere. _Was I really there that long?_ He returns to racking his brain for past actions.

Upon entering he remembered getting angry but he couldn't remember why… something about Star. No. He was angry at himself. Maybe it was both. Then he realized Cass was with Raven at the Tower so he found his communicator and asked her to drop Cass off at home. She came home and he… he… he held her while she cried some more. Her raspy breathing had reminded him of Star's but he pushed the memories away for Cass's sake. She sobbed for hours until she finally cried herself to sleep and he tucked her into bed. After that… _what happened after that?_ His temples were starting to hurt. _Walle!_ He had called, wanting to stop by but Dick was having trouble keeping the memories at bay and he didn't want to listen to Walle try to make sense of it for him. He told him he was tired and heading to bed so Walle never came. Then… _the wine!_ Then he had poured some wine in the glass cup on the table. He'd hoped it would take the edge off, keep the memories at bay_. And I fell asleep on the couch._ He stands up from the couch, his knees popping loudly and stretching out his back and neck. Feeling looser, he snatches up the glass and shuffles to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

The coffee is too hot to drink but Dick drinks it anyway hoping it will clear the rest of the fog from his mind. He moves to the table finding it odd that he woke up so early, six forty-two, according to the microwave. Normally Star wakes up first and then either her or Cass will wake him up when they want breakfast. Dick smiles to himself thinking of how horrible of a cook Star is… _was_. He swallows a bought of panic brought on by the correction. To keep from going back to that day he focuses on his breathing, the hypnotic rhythm of inhaling and exhaling keeping his mind occupied.

Several cups of coffee later Dick is released from his breathing exercise by the sound of Cass's footsteps coming down the hall.

"Daddy?" Her voice travels down the hall sounding flatter than usual. "Daddy?" A hint of panic resonates through the sound. _She expects me to be in my room_.

"Out here baby." He hopes his voice sounds stronger than he feels. She rounds the corner into the kitchen quickly but stops short of the table. Her black hair is frizzy and the curls tangled from sleep, she wears an oversized gray T-shirt he put her in the night before and blue flannel shorts making her eyes look more blue than green. Dick catches himself wishing she looked a little more like Star than him.

"You… you weren't in your room…" she looks down at her bare feet, wiggling her toes against the tile. "I got scared."

"Cass…" Dick gets up from the table and kneels down in front of her tilting her head up so she is looking him in the eye. "I'm not going anywhere." She moves in for a hug, that he needs just as much as she does. "I promise." Cass buries her face in his shoulder an mumbles what sounds like an okay. Then, fearing he would lose control of his emotions he gently pushes her back. "What do you say, time for breakfast?" She nods. "Alright, how about you go pour some drinks."

Cass grabs the milk off the bottom shelf of the fridge and Dick takes four eggs off the top shelf. As he cooks he hears Cass drag a chair from the table to the counter so she can climb up and reach the cups on the top shelf of the cabinet. He hears her climb onto the white tile but then it's quiet except for the sizzling eggs.

"I can't reach."

"What Cass?" He lowers the intensity of the flame and turns to see Cass standing on the counter in front of the open cabinet.

"I can't reach." She tries to grab a glass off the shelf but even on her tip toes her fingers just barely graze the plank. "I'm too short." She drops her arm and her shoulders sag a little. "Mommy always gets the cup for me…" her head hangs and a tear rolls down her pale cheek. _Star, how am I going to do this on my own?_ He turns the stove off and heads over to Cass picking her up off the counter and sitting down in the chair she moved. She hugs his chest tightly and cries curled up in his lap- the very same place where her mother died.

* * *

The day goes by agonizingly slow and neither Dick nor Cassandra has much energy to do anything. Day to day life is hard without Star. Everything, no matter how insignificant or abstract, reminded him of her. The condo was too quiet without her laughter. It was too empty even with the two of them still in it. By late afternoon Dick thought it would be best to take Cass to the Tower and hope the Titans could distract her. Thankfully he was right.

Beast Boy managed to get Cass to indulge him and throw a tennis ball for him to catch, or try to catch, as various animals. Dick watches them play on the back side of the island. It brings some warmth back to his heart to watch Cass chase BB back and forth. She isn't laughing and smiling the way she usually does when she plays around like this normally and her eyes are still heavy with sadness but it is an improvement from earlier in the morning. Satisfied that Cass will be okay for the near future Dick heads back inside the Tower searching for a distraction of his own.

He finds Raven and Cy in main opps talking hurriedly. He stops in the doorway feeling out of place in his burgundy T-shirt, jeans, and sunglasses. At the Tower they are always in uniform. There is no need for civilian clothes. It felt more natural to be in uniform than it did to dress "normally," as if it was more natural to be wearing the mask than to not. Often he had felt that Robin was who he really was and Dick Grayson was the cover. Protecting people, upholding justice, saving lives… there they only things he really knew. The things he felt he was meant to do. Suddenly shame fills him_. So much for any of that… I couldn't protect Star. I didn't save her. I let her die._ The super computer's screen catches his eye, it is filled with maps- topographic maps, weather patterns, ocean currents, and satellite imagery all centered around _the abandoned Jump City Military Base. _

"You told me you would wait!" Raven and Cy turn at the sound of his voice looking like two teenagers caught sneaking in past curfew.

"Robin…" Raven exchanges a glance with Cy before she continues. "Robin you are too cl-"

"Too close!" He storms into the room, his heart rate picking up and stitches starting to throb. "Yeah I am! He killed Star! I can guarantee that I'm too close, but I am not letting him get away with this." Cy begins to talk but he cuts him off, "I am going to find him." Visions of the knife piercing Star flash through Dick's mind; _I owe it to Star_… "I have to find him!"

"Look he fell off a cliff, odds are he is already dead." Cy stands between him and the computer with all the information from their investigation.

"He isn't dead until I have a body." Dick stares Cyborg down, his blue eyes burning with determined, obsessive intensity.

"Rob…" Cy doesn't break his stare, "when it comes to Slade, you've got issues. Always have." _Are you kidding me?_

"Do you really think I wouldn't have issues after this?" Raven crosses her arms and looks down, Cy's gaze finally falters. "Slade killed Star. My wife is gone!" His words begin to catch in his throat and he fears his voice will crack but he pushes on. "I'm a widower…" his eyes burn, he hears Cass screaming and has to remind himself it is all in his head. "Ca… Cass is motherless."

"Do you want her to be fatherless too?" Raven's voice is stern, accusing. Dick stares at her confused.

"Ray's right." Cy shrugs, "When it comes to Slade-"

"I've got issues! I know, we covered this! But I'm not aband-"

"You have always gotten consumed with Slade!" Raven takes a step forward, asserting herself. "You lock yourself away, and when you have done it before, none of us ever saw you. You would become somebody else; you didn't care about the cost_…" No, I… I was trying to catch him… the cost was all I ever thought about…_ He tries to deny what she says but part of him knew it was true. "The only person that could ever get through to you, snap you out of it, was Star…" she stops and inhales deeply. "…but Star is gone and if you go back there you are not coming back." Raven pauses and Dick looks at Cy hoping he will say something to prove her wrong but he doesn't. Ray is right. "And when that happens…" Dick drops his head slightly staring at the floor, "…Cass might as well be an orphan." He sucks in a breath.

"Let us take care of it." Cy's voice is calm but final and all Dick can do is nod and try to keep his mind under control. The devil on his shoulder won't let up easily though_… Some hero you are. You are turning your back on finding your own wife's murderer… what kind of justice do you uphold?_ He tries his best to ignore it. Raven is right. _Cass needs me more than I need to find Slade. _The silence is pierced by the Titans alarm and the screen changes from maps to satellite imagery of Dr. Light at First Union Bank.

"Radio B." Cy responds to Raven's command by lifting his arm to his face and preparing to speak into the built in communicator.

"No." The both look at him, uncertainty in their eyes. "I'll go… B stays with Cass." The two of them begin to protest but he raises his hand to silence them, "Look he's been able to get Cass to forget for a while and I want her to get as much of that as she can." They don't protest. "I'll be dressed in 10 seconds." He turns to head out the door and to his room.

"Robin your injured." He stops, how could he forget? His stitches throb with every beat of his heart. _Ray I'm more than just injured… I just don't have any other choice_.

"Face it… you never could keep me out of the action with worse injuries." He means it to be a joke but it comes out pained and tense. He sighs and continues out of the room wondering when being a hero became more of a hardship than what he once felt was his calling.

Years of training and high pressure circumstances however are not lost on him and he is dressed and staring Dr. Light down faster than expected. He has a bank full of hostages behind him so they have to be smart about their actions.

"You are no match for the power of Light!"

"Then how come we keep beating your sorry butt?" Ray's comment sets him off and the Titans fall under relentless fire. Dick takes cover behind a parked car while Cy retreats to another car and Ray flies higher in the air.

"Yo, Rob!" Cy calls from the other car, his right arm transformed into a cannon, "Do you have an angle?"

Cautiously, Dick leans out to peer around the car but instead of Dr. Light he sees Slade. _What? No, it's not him… It's Dr. Light._ He leans back on the car vaguely aware of Cy yelling at him. _Get your head in it_. He thrusts himself back around the car horrified to see Dr. Light now has a hostage under his arm, a teenage girl her eyes ablaze with terror and screaming beneath his hand cupped over her mouth. For a split second the girl transforms and he sees Star. _I have to save her!_ He grabs a smoke pellet from his belt and tosses it at Dr. Light's feet where it explodes with a flash and sends thick smoke billowing in all directions. Using the smoke as cover he comes up directly in front of Light and breaks his grip on the girl telling her to run. Dr. Light moves to shoot Dick but at close range Dick can move his wrist and he misses by about half an inch to the left. Determined to finish it Dick punches him once for good measure, knocking him out cold.

"Cy!" Dick turns around at Raven's yelp, confused because he just took out Dr. Light. How could she be in danger? In the clearing smoke she kneels next to the hostage girl who is lying on the ground moaning in agony. "Ambulance, now!" _No, I saved her…_ Dick approaches slowly, seeing the circle of missing fabric in her shirt and the singed skin it exposes on the back of her shoulder. _I saved her… she was fine…_ Cy comes over and begins to inspect he wound, the exposed tissue is red and inflamed, blood starting to seep out in places.

"Flesh wound." Cy nods to Raven who nods back confirming his assumption. "Hey, what's your name?" Cy leans over to see her face better.

"Claire." She says through gritted teeth still in pain.

"Claire you are going to be alright, it's just a flesh wound. Do you understand what that means?" She nods almost imperceptibly at Cy, "Okay, the ambulance will be here soon." Dick takes a step back from the three of them, _I saved her… she wasn't injured… How?_ His hands ball into fists. _The shot!_ His eyes lock on the girl, Claire, still on the asphalt_. I moved his hand and he missed me but…_ The ambulance shows up and paramedics load her into it. _It hit her instead_. Guilt surges through him. _His heart pounds against his chest. That shot was meant for me. It should have been me._

"Dude you all right?" Cy walks directly in front of Dick but he doesn't see him. _What am I doing? That shot was meant for me… _Star pops into his head and he thinks of how that trap was designed for him. To hurt him. _It's all for me. It should have been me_. "Robin?"

"It should have been me…" Hysterics begin to come on and he fights to prevent them from taking hold of him.

"What?" Cy looks confused then his one human eye widens in understanding. "No, you saved her. He could have killed her." _But I didn't_… Dick is no longer thinking of Claire and that shot. No, his mind is in a darker place. "You saved her Robin." Dick shakes his head_. I'm not Robin… Robin would have died saving Star. _

_I let her die._

_I'm no Robin._

_I don't know who I am._

"C'mon," Raven puts a hand on his back. "I think it's time you went home." Dick let himself be led to the T-car and finally gave up trying to ignore the devil on his shoulder.


	3. Best Interests

_Chapter Three of Inherit the Night. Unsure of who he is and how to survive without the one person who truly knew him and seperating himself from all he has ever known Dick falls further into the blackness of his own fear and guilt. How do you help someone who doesn't want to be helped?_

_Sorry for the delay you guys! I'm trying to get one posted every week. Please comment and let me know what you think of this chapter or of the story idea in general. Enjoy!_

_I do not own any of these characters, they are the property of DC Nation._

* * *

**Best Interests:**

The wood of the cabinet is rough with recently turned up dust but most of all its empty. It's all gone. The supply of alcohol that Star and Dick had hoarded in the back of the cabinet because they hardly drank is all gone. Gradually, over the week Dick had worked his way through all of it- down to the last drop. But now with none left he has nothing to keep the headache away- nothing to stop him from thinking and remembering. _We can't be out_… he sighs… _I can't be out._ He swipes his hand over the wooden surface again hoping he may have missed something but there is nothing left to find.

He can hardly believe it when the pounding in his head starts; he had hoped he would have at least an hour before that. Coffee is his only choice at this point so he puts a new filter in the coffee maker and tries to ignore the banging in his ears. The sound methodically vibrates painfully through his skull almost too loud for him to stand. Suddenly it stops. Before he has the chance to celebrate however they start again accompanied by shouting.

"Hey Dick! You in there?" It takes him a minute to realize that the knocking isn't actually coming from the inside of his skull but instead is someone banging on the door. "C'mon open up!" He recognizes the voice as Cy's and even though he would rather not answer the door and avoid the Titans like he had been all week, the knocking hurts too much and he doesn't think he can take much more of it, reluctantly, he shuffles in the direction of the door.

He opens and closes the door while rubbing his eyes trying to calm the headache. There's an awkward silence in which they take each other in. All three of them in civilian clothes; Cy in oversized track sweats and a large hoodie chosen solely to hide the fact that he is half mechanic and Ray in jeans, a black T-shirt, and flats. Dick becomes conscious of his appearance; basketball shorts, wrinkled white Tee, hair likely sticking out in a few different directions, bags under his eyes from sitting up with Cass after each time she had a nightmare, and the "day later" stench of alcohol on his breath. He makes a mental note not to get too close to them.

"You look like hell." Cy shrugs, unusually blunt.

"Thanks… I'd love to see how you look after sitting up with Cass after nightmares. Four times." The words come out of Dick's mouth dripping contempt and he folds his arms across his chest feeling defensive. Ray and Cy exchange glances.

"Robin, we're worried about you." Ray speaks softly showing kindness and emotion, not a normal disposition for her. Dick rolls his eyes, _this is why I've been avoiding you. I don't need babysitters._

"We know it hasn't been easy on you…"

"Don't start." He says it more to himself than anyone else. _They don't know anything about this. _

"…you have to let us help you." Dick can't believe what he is hearing. He's been doing fine on his own. They don't know what it's like. All of the pent up anger, desire, and guilt. They can't help him. He doesn't want their help. Dick drops his eyes to the floor and shakes his head at the ground mumbling no. "Robin…"

"Don't call me that!" He locks eyes with Raven, fire dancing behind his blue gaze. "I am not Robin." _Not anymore._

"What are you talking about?" Cy shakes his head at Dick. "Of course you are…" His voice wavers at Dick's pained and angry expression.

"No I'm not. Robin is gone!" It pains Dick to say the words out loud- to make it official. Robin was a part of his life from the time he was only nine. Robin was all he had ever seen or wanted when he thought of the future. He didn't know what his life would be without Robin but he knew he wasn't worthy to be called Robin- to be called a hero. "And he is not coming back."

"What?" Raven sucks in a breath and steps back in disbelief.

"Look you are Robin." Cy rubs his hand across the back of his neck. "You are the best out of all of us. You are our leader… You can't just quit!" He stops and looks at the ceiling for more to say. "You. Are. Robin."

"I'm not leader…" all the mistakes he made that day fly to his mind. "If I was I wouldn't have split us up… I… I wouldn't have… I would have known better!" His heart rates picks up making the almost healed slit at his side sting slightly and his head pound relentlessly. "Star would still be here!" Guilt starts to take over, drowning every other semi-coherent thought_. I need a drink._

"Robin it-"

"Robin is gone! Okay?" Dick takes a step toward Raven and feels the tension shift in the room. _They think I'm dangerous_… he steps back and takes a deep breath desperately trying to ignore the urge to look for a drink in the cabinet he knows is empty. "Robin… Robin died the day Star did." Dick refuses to look either of his friends in the eye but he can imagine their shocked disbelieving faces. "And as far as I'm concerned he was buried with her too."

"It wasn't your fault." Raven's voice is faraway, still in shock from his previous episode.

"Please leave…" It hurts him to say it because they really are his friends but the headache hurts more. Cy begins to protest but Dick silences him with a single word. "Now!" Even Dick hears the danger in the single syllable. If the Titans don't leave, he's going to make them. After a few tense moments they finally head toward the door.

"If you need us…" Raven hesitates at the door, "we are your friends…" she bites her lip and meets his eyes moved and hurt by the churning turmoil in the sea of cool blue. "We have you best interest at heart." She closes the door behind her.

"I don't need anyone looking out for my best interests." He whispers it angrily to himself. The weight of the conversation settles heavily on his shoulders only making him more irritable and that makes him that much more desperate for a drink. Somewhere in the back of his mind a memory flickers; there is a liquor store around the corner from his building.

A new burst of energy courses through him at the thought of quenching his need. He dashes to his room and snatches up his wallet and keys almost forgetting to check on Cass before he leaves. He finds her wiped out on her blue and black bed. Arms wrapped tightly around her pillow and eyes shut tight_. Lucky, she can make up all that lost sleep… unlike some of us._ His fatherly instinct tells him that he should wake her up and tell her that he will be right back but he can't wait for that drink. One second more is a second too long.

He makes it to the store in a trance and when he arrives he realizes he must have ran. He's breathing heavily which strikes him as odd. He has always had good, if not great, stamina and endurance starting from his days as a Flying Grayson. A run that short should have been nothing to him. He dismisses the thought and pursues his objective.

Dick takes as much as he can carry- a twenty four pack of beers, a tall skinny bottle of vodka, and two bulging round bottle of tequila. The hard liquor is new to him but he assumes it will work faster and longer because it is stronger than beer.

"Party tonight?" The bottles clank down noisily on the counter. The cashier, a gray haired and balding man looks up at him while ringing up the bottles via muscle memory.

"You could say that…" Dick answers curtly, not wanting to talk with anyone, let alone a nosy old cashier. _Me, myself, I… some party_. Taking the hint, the cashier handles the rest of the transaction in silence.

When Dick arrives home Cass is still asleep and he takes the two plastic bags of alcohol into his room. He starts with a beer, the bitter taste and burning calming his headache slightly. One isn't enough. His head continues to pound. Sitting on the edge of the bed he continues to down more and more until the world goes fuzzy and fades to black.

It feels as if the world is shaking, Dick's eyes flutter open. _Whoa… dizzy…_ he reaches across the beige sheets for the bottle of vodka resting on Star's pillow. The world shakes harder, the motion making him feel sick.

* * *

"Daddy! C'mon wake up!" he turns to look at his other side. Cass is shaking his shoulder. _What now?_ He drops his head back onto the pillow and puts a hand on hers to stop the shaking.

"I'm up."

"I need your help." _At least she didn't have another nightmare_. He sighs.

"With what Cass?"

"I need a cup." Dick's whole body feels heavy and sore, he doesn't want to move. "I'm really thirsty."

"Cass just climb onto the counter." He turns so that his chest is parallel with the bed and tries to fall back asleep.

"I'm too little…" _'Mommy always got the cup for me.' I know!_

"Just try." Cass makes a yelping noise and Dick realizes that he shouted at her. _Crap…_ he turns his head to look at her but doesn't see her very well in the blinding light of the open bedroom door. He squints at the painful brightness. "Cass I'm not feeling so good. Why don't you go try and let daddy get some rest, okay?" Vaguely he sees her nod and she shuffles out closing the door behind her. Dick welcomes the darkness and buries his face in the pillow waiting for sleep to overtake him. Before it does however, he hears a crash accompanied by a scream and shoots up in bed finding nothing to explain the sound. Afraid he is going to start seeing Star's death again he snatches up the bottle of vodka and hopes it will stop the memories before they start.

* * *

"Dick!" The pounding is back, fortunately its coming from the bedroom door and not the inside of Dick's skull. "Open up!" _Walle…_ annoyance floods him. He's been dodging his phone calls and making excuses not to see him all week. "Dick!" _I need an excuse fast…_

"I'm sleeping!" The door opens and makes Dick turn over to avoid the light.

"I've known you for sixteen years and you don't talk in your sleep." Dick mumbles irritably into the pillow. "C'mon it's like four, what are you still doing in bed?" The lights go on and Dick shoves his head under the pillow trying to keep the light out. "What the hell?" Walle's voice has and angry edge to it. Suddenly the pillow is yanked off of his head.

"Hey!" Dick reaches for the pillow only to have it smack him in the face."Ow! What's your problem?" Dick sits up in bed and gives Walle and icy stare that doesn't last long between his vibrant red hair and enraged expression making Dick squint.

"My problem?" Walle throws the pillow across the bed and motions to the nightstand and floor his eyes full of green fury. "What the hell is all of this?" he kicks an empty beer can, "Since when do you drink?"

"Walle, it's none of your business. Just go home."

"What do you think you are doing with all of this?" _All what? There isn't that much here…_ Dick looks around at the twenty four empty cans on the floor, one empty tequila bottle and an almost empty tequila bottle on the nightstand, and the vodka bottle on the bed next to him.

"I'm… I don't know…" It's hard for Dick to think straight and he is consumed with how much he doesn't want Walle to be there. _What's the word?_ "I'm… coping."

"This is coping?!" Walle picks up the empty tequila bottle and sets it back down. "This isn't healthy, this isn't right! Do you really think Star would want you to do this?" Anger builds inside Dick, the sudden emotion making his head hurt. "I'm having a hard time too bu-"

"Don't you dare pretend like you know how this feels!" Clear thoughts being to form but only ones that make him feel even guiltier and angrier. "You have no idea what I've been through!"

"I don't?" Walle crosses his arms over his chest covering the writing on his red sweatshirt. "You don't think Star's death has been eating at me? At Artemis? Star was our friend! Practically family just like you. Don't tell me I don't know what it's like!" Dick looks away not willing to listen. "Damn it! I'm mourning too! I'm coping too!" The pounding worsens. "You aren't coping Dick you are giving up!" The vodka bottle catches Dick's eye, offering relief. "Yeah I know about you giving up Robin…" Dick can't take it anymore. He reaches for the bottle but Walle gets to it first with his super speed.

"Give it!" The addiction is clear in Dick's eyes and Walle holds the bottle just out of his reach. Dick lunges awkwardly for it from his sitting position and can't do anything to stop it when Walle slams the bottle into the floor sending glass everywhere and letting Dick's liquid relief soak into the carpet. "Why did you do that?!"

"Pathetic…" Walle shakes his head in disappointment.

"What was that?" Cass stands timidly in the door way. "Something crashed." She rolls back and forth on her heels, eyes darting between Dick and Walle.

"I was just showing your daddy that he needs to make some changes." Walle locks eyes with Dick silently telling him that he won't back down. "Cass," he slowly turns to look at her, "go watch- what's that?" Dick follows his gaze to Cass's left wrist, the light pink long sleeve obscured by red. _What? So there is a stain, big deal._ Walle goes over to her and Cass takes a step back clutching the spot where the stain is.

"It's nothing." She looks as if she is afraid to get in trouble. "Promise."

"Cass show me your arm." She hesitates for a moment but then follows directions and holds her hand out to Walle. He rolls her sleeve up to reveal a two inch cut bleeding slowly but steadily only a quarter inch from her vein. "Honey how did this happen?"

"I fell…" Dick watches them but doesn't fully understand. "Daddy said to try and get a cup by myself because he didn't feel good but I knocked it onto the floor and it broke then I fell on top of it. Daddy was still asleep and I didn't want to wake him up." She shrugs, "I cleaned up the broken cup though!" she adds quickly.

"It's just a cut." Dick surprises himself by speaking.

"Just a cut?" Walle stands up and stares disbelievingly at Dick before turning back to Cass. "Go get your stuff; you are going to spend some time with Auntie Artemis and me." Walle nudges her in the direction of the door but she stops and stares wide-eyed at her dad asking for permission but Dick just stares back in shock. "Go on, I'll meet you at the door." Walle smiles encouragingly and she leaves.

"You can't take her."

"Oh yes I can…" He walks over to the nightstand and grabs the almost empty bottle of tequila, "You are obviously too drunk to take care of her, and in case you are too drunk to remember, let me remind you that you," he points at Dick with his free hand and then points at himself, "named me her Godfather so I reserve the right to protect her from you." Dick rolls his eyes.

"Oh c'mon this is all because of that cut." He motions to the spot where she stood.

"That cut is going to need stitches!" The yelling hurts Dick's head even more.

"She's survived worse…"

"A little further to the right and she wouldn't have survived!"

"Oh don't be so melodramatic." Walle's jaw drops open slightly and Dick has to fight the urge to snatch the bottle out of his hand.

"Melodramatic…" Dick watches Walle walk toward the door and stop in the doorway."You know what Dick, when you decide to start acting like Cassandra's father or to clean yourself up give me a call but until then…" He doesn't finish the sentence and turns to leave.

"I'm not letting you take her." Dick throws his legs over the side of the bed to get up if he has to. Walle walks back into the room, his free hand in his sweatshirt pocket, totally relaxed.

"I'd love to see you try to stop me." The part of Dick that still remembers all of his detective training knows Walle is just trying to bait him but the alcohol fueled rage doesn't stop to consider a more tactically effective approach. Dick gets up to lunge at him but trips over his own feet, dizzy from all the alcohol. He bites his tongue when he hits the floor and tastes blood. Seething he looks up at Walle meeting his disappointed and hurt eyes. "Star would hate you for this." His words cut Dick like daggers and he begins to feel shame for his actions for the first time. The shame turns to loss as he watches Walle pour the remaining tequila down the kitchen sink and walks out of his view without looking back. The front door clicks shut and there lying on his bedroom floor unable to comprehend his own emotions and thoughts, for the first time, Dick is truly alone.


	4. My Hero

Chapter four of Inherit the Night. With memories of Star and their life together tormenting him and after his child is taken away from him Dick has to decide whether or not he is able to take on being a single parent. Will he be able to pull himself out of his own misery or will he ignore the advice of a very prominent voice of his past and let her go?

You guys have been great! Please keep reviewing and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

I do not own any of these characters they are the property of DC Nation.

* * *

**My Hero:**

The air is heavy with water, rain is coming; Dick can feel it. If it was lighter outside he's sure he would be able to see thick gray clouds crawling over the tops of the mountains trying to make their way out to sea. He leans on the cold metal railing that runs around the roof of his building and stares out at Jump City; the city lights twinkling in the night like stars. Underneath that glittering surface he knows there are criminals and psychos hiding in dark allies planning their next schemes to wreak havoc on the rest of the city but for now everything is quiet. Everyone is safe. He smiles to himself, satisfied that he's a part of the reason why that is true. A breeze picks up making goose bumps begin to dot his chest and back and he begins to regret not grabbing a shirt before he went up on the roof, but he didn't want to wake up Star so he opted for the stealthier approach of just slipping out as quickly as he could. He knows he should go back to bed but he is just too awake; he has too much on his mind. Too much to worry about. He sighs and stares intently at the blinking light on top of a skyscraper. Keeping the city safe that was simple, easy to understand… but this… _I don't know how to do this… _light floods the rooftop and then vanishes with the opening and closing of the heavy black door that leads back inside.

"Dick?" Her voice doesn't sound worried exactly because it isn't the first time he has disappeared in the middle of the night but he knows that she is finally going to call him out on how disconnected he's been acting for the last few days. "You okay?" She walks up behind him and stands by his shoulder running her hand across his back; her touch instantly floods him with warmth despite the chill of the night. He looks into her emerald eyes and feels a flutter of embarrassment, hating the fact that she found him sneaking away to try to clear his head. She caught him in the midst of his vulnerability; something he doesn't like anyone to see even if that someone is Starfire.

"Can't sleep..." He looks down at her hand resting a few inches away from his on the rail and takes it in his own. "I didn't want to wake you." He rubs circles into her hand with his thumb. _Or have to talk about this…_

"I would have woken up anyway." She takes her hand from his back and places it on her stomach, "Someone doesn't understand that in our line of work you sleep when you can for as long as you can." She laughs under her breath while she says it, not really upset with the baby about it. Dick can't help himself and he feels a smile spread across his face too. His hand automatically moves to cover her hand on her stomach, the closest they can get too actually touching their baby for now. It's almost cruel, to have their child so near to their reach but so unreachable at the same time. Suddenly he drops his hand and turns back to the city lights, nervousness runs through his body in icy waves and he has to think of anything but how quickly the five months will pass before their baby is born. "Hey, what's wrong?" Star wraps her arms around his left arm and leans into him.

"It's nothing Star." He smiles at her and she raises and eyebrow at him, not convinced. She knows him too well. She stares at him expectantly waiting for him to be ready to talk to her but how can he? Star is so excited for this baby and so is Dick but, part of him is terrified. _I don't know how to be a parent._ He looks back at Star and she smiles mischievously at him. "No fair, stop doing that."

"Doing what?" She stands up a little straighter and holds his arm a little tighter letting the smile travel all the way to her eyes.

"You know exactly what you are doing." Dick smiles at her and can feel his walls start coming down making him want to talk to her. "Stop. Seriously." He's smiling when he says it because her smile is contagious and there is no way she will let up now that she's getting to him.

"Talk to me." She rests her chin on his shoulder, "Tell me what you're thinking." He caves and gives in to her, as usual, but his ears and cheeks get hot with nerves and embarrassment before he begins. Star intertwines her fingers with his on the arm she is holding hostage and squeezes to encourage him.

"Would you believe…" He exhales and goes on, "that I've faced killer robots, psychotic criminals, and, well, monsters, yet I have never been more nervous than I am right now?" _God I sound like a loser…_ Star squeezes his hand again to get him to keep going but Dick can't find the words. He's ashamed that he isn't just excited to have a kid, he hates that part of him is nervous. He isn't nervous about the responsibility of the child though, his real fear is that he will screw it up. He doesn't know what a good father looks like or acts like. "Star… I…" he meets her eyes grateful not to see any judgment, "I don't think I'm going to be a good father." Her eyes widen a little with confusion.

"Why not?"

"It's just…" Dick tries to think of the only father figures he's had, his real father who died when he was nine and then Bruce who definitely was not the best father figure in the world. "All I really have to model myself after is Bruce and, well… he's Bruce! I left when I was a teenager for crying out loud!" _What if I'm that horrible_… He shakes his head at the thought of raising his child that way and having him or her grow up to hate him or at least have a rather strained relationship with him.

"You can't really think that…" Dick closes his eyes and nods feeling the weight of his fear pull his body down making it a fight just to stand. Star makes her way in front of him and wraps her arms around his chest holding him tightly to her. Dick catches himself thinking that he shouldn't need this, everything should be the other way around with him holding her to make her feel better, not… this. But at the same time he can't think of anything else more perfect in the world than standing there holding her and for once letting someone else save him.

* * *

Someone is screaming. Dick's head shoots up at the sound and instinctively he looks for the source of the sound but there is no logical source of the screaming. He's in Cassandra's room; the light green walls are pale in the shadows spilling through the window from the night outside. He rubs his eyes and sits up on the bed, _okay I know someone screamed…_ he leans forward on his knees and stares out the door into the hallway. It's almost pitch black at the end, someone could be in there and he might not be able to see them. _No_, he thinks, _there's no one else here._ He remembers the events before he knocked out again: Walle took Cass away. He stands up shakily and starts toward the dark hallway wanting to leave the emptiness of his daughter's room and find something to distract himself.

When he makes it to the kitchen he doesn't bother with the light because he knows it will likely only give him a head ache and instead opens up the liquor cabinet in the moonlight from the window rediscovering that it is empty. The image of Walle spilling out the rest of his tequila into the sink flashes before his eyes and he turns to find the glass bottle sitting tauntingly in the sink. Dick swears under his breath and sits down at the table massaging his temples. Suddenly he remembers the dream he had; it wasn't actually a dream but a memory. It was so real to him; he smelled the rain in the air and felt her smooth skin, it makes him ache inside knowing that is the closest he will get to every feeling her touch again. _I haven't even thought of that day in years…_ He remembers the fears he had that he would end up turning into Bruce and being standoffish or worse. He was terrified he would ruin his family before it really got started. Everything was fine after Cassandra was born and he never felt that way again. Every single doubt he had was gone the moment he met her eyes for the first time and he had never looked back. Neither had Star. They were a happy family. Cass was a happy kid… _until recently._ For the first time it really dawns on Dick that Walle took Cass away to protect her. What was he thinking drinking like that and ignoring his only child? His motherless child! _'You are obviously too drunk to take care of her…'_ Walle's words play through his mind making him hate himself. Shame twists inside of him, he stands up and heads over to the cabinet and pulls out a glass and sets it down on the counter as if to put it into Cass's reach. It's too late though, she's gone, and the cup just sits on the tile. He let her fall through the cracks all because he couldn't pull himself together long enough to go get a stupid cup from the cabinet. For a split second he thinks about pouring himself another drink and the idea makes him hate himself more. Enraged he grabs the tequila bottle out of the sink and throws it at the opposite wall watching as is tumbles to the ground in a heap of piercing glass shards along with whatever was left of his heart. He thinks back to his dream. _I was right… I'm a terrible parent. Cassandra is better off with Walle._ He sucks in a breath crying, mourning the last piece of his family that he knows his is losing. He hears the screaming again but it's not screaming exactly it is more of a ringing. _Ringing?_ Dick looks at the clock; ten forty three p.m. _Who would be calling now? Walle?_ Reluctantly he reaches for the receiver on the kitchen desk under the window. "Hello?"

"Dick! Finally!"

"Raven?" Dick looks around the room half expecting her to come out of the shadows.

"Yeah look we have an issue with the investig-"

"I thought I wasn't supposed to be a part of that." His voice sounds more acerbic than he means it to, but he can't help it; Slade was his case from the beginning. _And you failed_ Dick's eyes widen at the little voice in his head, and his shoulder sag when he realizes it is true. "I shouldn't be a part of it." _I would just screw it up too._

"I know we said that but…" Raven's voice is highly agitated and she sounds nervous like she is expected the world to come caving in around her. "…we found some variables in the investigation and we aren't exactly sure what to do with them and the fact that there…" she hesitates and Dick listens and she tries to calm herself, muttering her mantra a few times quickly under her breath, "there still isn't a body." _He isn't dead_. "We need a real detective's eye on this one." Dick's throat tightens; _he has to be dead… I watched him go over the edge of that cliff._ He shakes his head and bites his lower lip. _I can't do this. She's right, I'm too close_. "Dick?" _Besides I'll screw everything up and probably send them on the wrong lead. I'm not cut out for this anymore_. "Robin!"

"I'm not Robin and I can't help you." He moves to hang up the phone but at the last minute adds "You are all better off without me" and hangs the phone up on a protesting Raven. He sets the phone down on the counter and hangs his head feeling as if his throat is beginning to tighten up and tears may spring from his eyes. His insides are twisting with conflicted emotions, he's angry that Ray would call and ignore his decision to let Robin go, at the same time he feels insurmountable guilt knowing he is turning his back on people that need his help. _That's all I've been doing recently; turning my back on people. _He looks back at the shattered bottle and is disgusted by the part of him that wants more but he no longer has the strength or the will power to stop it from growing. "She really is better off with Walle."

"At this point I can't say I disagree." Dick jumps at the voice in the dark. It came from the living room and he searches the shadows for whoever it is, his body tensing instinctively for a fight. For a moment he truly is glad that Cass isn't there in case this is someone trying to hurt her.

"Show yourself." His hand goes to his waist searching for his utility belt but for once it isn't anywhere on his person. _Crap! _He can't stop his face from betraying the shock and he hopes that whoever is in the room can't see him well enough to notice it. _Guess I'm going hand to hand._

"Really? That is the first thing I taught you." Dick narrows his eyes and shakes his head at the darkness, "My number one rule." Finally the deep voice begins to register in his mind. "Did you learn nothing from me?" _Oh, yeah… self righteous, condescending…_ Dick doesn't know whether he should relax or stay tensed for a fight. This could go either way.

"How the hell did you get in here Bruce?" The light turns on in the living room making Dick squint as he takes in his mentor looming in the corner by the light switch fully dressed in uniform. _Ugh, stupid question… He's Batman._

"The better question is how did you not know I was here?" His tone is flat and almost too calm, the way he talks to criminals; as if he knows something that they don't, "We both know you are far too good at what you do to have not noticed." Dick feels his body tense again; anger building inside of him. The last thing he wants is to be lectured, especially by Bruce.

"Just spit it out and leave."

"Spit what out?" Bruce pulls his mask off and folds his arms staring Dick down the way he did when Dick was a teenager and did something too rebellious for Bruce's liking.

"C'mon Bruce I don't have time for this. Just get on with it." Dick stares him down again, suddenly feeling as though everything in him hates Bruce more than he ever thought possible. "We both know what you are thinking!"

"Then you must be a lot smarter than me." Dick folds his arms across his chest to keep the temptation of punching Bruce at bay. They both stand quietly waiting for the other to break the silence; their stares so cold that Dick feels a shiver run up and down his spine. _He just wants to tell me how horrible my life choices have been. _His mind travels to Walle and Cass,_ how terrible of a parent I am. Well it's his fault. Not like I had a good model. _The silence continues, almost deafeningly so and Dick is driving himself crazy imagining what Bruce is actually going to say.

"Stop with the all-knowing stare already! I get it! I screwed up!" All of the pent up anger and regret comes flooding into Dick's mind. "What do you want me to say?" He starts pacing in the kitchen, "That you were right and I was wrong? That I should never have fallen for Star?!" Bruce opens his mouth to speak but Dick stops pacing and keeps going. "Well I can't help that I did! If I could maybe she would still be here but I couldn't okay!" His vision starts to blur and he clenches his teeth to keep from crying. "You hated her! You hated us!"

"I didn't hate her and I-"

"You don't even like Cassandra and she is a nine year old girl. What did she do to piss you off?" Bruce still looks calm and collected which makes Dick even more infuriated. _Heartless jerk!_ "Unless it isn't even her fault and it's just me you have an issue with, she's just caught in the cross fire right?" a cynical laugh escapes his lips, "Can't let anyone else have a happy family because you didn't get to have one." Finally a reaction, Bruce's eyes narrow and Dick knows he hit a raw nerve. The one they both share.

"That isn't fair." Dick laughs again.

"Fair? You want to talk fair, oh well how-"

"That's enough! I didn't come here to be yelled at and judged by the likes of you." Bruce makes his way into the kitchen and they stand on opposite ends of the table.

"Then leave." Dick places his palms on the table and stares Bruce down menacingly. He is torn between his anguish at losing his family and his guilt-driven need to put it back together but can't find something to push him over the edge one way or the other and it's starting to take its toll on his mind. "You weren't asked to come here, I didn't ask for your help and I definitely don't want it. I will figure out how to take care of my kid and myself on my own."

"A kid that isn't here might I point out." Bruce holds his ground; not intimidated. "Walle took her didn't he?" The guilt and feeling that she is better off with Walle comes back and sucks the fight out of him, his eyes fall to the table. "You didn't destroy your life when you fell for Star, believe me I never thought that, but you are destroying it now. Cassandra's life too." _This is rich coming from him… _"Are you really going to let her slip through your fingers?"

"You have no right saying any of this to me." Dick thinks back on all of the times he has been let down and ignored by Bruce. Every single time he was pushed too far or taken for granted and he can see Bruce is thinking the same thing when he finally meets his eyes.

"You are probably right. I was a horrible guardian or parent, however you think of me, especially once you got older. I'm sure you think I was self-absorbed." Dick smirks a little enjoying the show. "I like to think I wasn't all bad but I know it wasn't easy on you. For that I am sorry Dick." Something inside Dick softens and instead of the bad memories he thinks of all the good, and fights a smile that comes with them. Then Bruce walks around the table and stands directly in front of Dick, "Are you willing to make my mistakes?" Dick's eyes travel to the hallway where at the very end he knows is Cassandra's empty room, another part of him that is missing- one he isn't willing to give up.

"No." _I just don't know how not to. _A small part of him still believes she is better off with Walle, out of his life forever.

"Then don't."

* * *

Bruce leaves Dick to his thoughts soon after without another word and for a while Dick feels as though he may actually be able to make a change and get his daughter back but then he remembers all the mistakes he has been making. Thinking of himself first. Forsaking the investigation. Giving up Robin. Drinking. All things he couldn't believe he had actually done. His thoughts go to darker places eventually and he again begins to wonder whether or not Cassandra is better off with Walle. He could take care of her; she's known both him and Artemis for her whole life, not to mention they are her God Parents. Walle would probably be a better father than Dick ever could anyway. _Why do I even try…? She's better off with him than with me. It's more selfish of me to take her back. _Hunched over in his chair he lets tears run down his cheeks silently mourning the loss of not just Star now but his whole family; his life. Thinking of Star he cries harder shutting his eyes against the world. Star thought he could be a great parent and he let her down. She made him think he could do it, but he couldn't. "I'm so sorry." He chokes out over and over again between sobs. He puts his head in his hands and thinks back to the day he dreamed about.

"You can't really think that…" Dick closes his eyes and nods feeling the weight of his fear pull his body down making it a fight just to stand. Star makes her way in front of him and wraps her arms around his chest holding him tightly to her. Dick catches himself thinking that he shouldn't need this, everything should be the other way around with him holding her to make her feel better, not… this. But at the same time he can't think of anything else more perfect in the world than standing there holding her and for once letting someone else save him.

"I do." He whispers it into her hair half hoping she didn't actually hear him.

"It's going to be okay." She pulls back and places her hands on his chest, "I have no idea what I'm doing either, but we will figure it out together. It's not like fighting criminals; you can't go train with a master and come back completely prepared. We have to make mistakes; we have to suck at parts of it…" She smiles up at him comfortingly. "That is just how it works." She shrugs. In the back of his mind Dick still can't shake his fears even if what Star says makes perfect sense. Sensing he is still far from convinced Star wraps her arms around the back of his neck bringing all of his focus back onto her words. "She is going to love you, stop worrying."

"Okay you say that now but- wait did you say 'she'?" Star smiles and nods excitedly and Dick's brain moves excruciatingly slow and too fast all at once as he processes what just happened. "A girl…? We are having a girl?" _Wow, a little girl! That's… I'm having a daughter!_

"Yes we are, and she is going to love her Daddy. I just know it." The excitement fades and the fear creeps back in.

"Star all I know is the training and the fighting crime. I'm a hero that's all I've ever been." He stares down at her stomach trying to imagine what their daughter will look like and be like. Will she have dark hair? What color will her eyes be? What kinds of foods will she like? So many things he can't wait to find out. "Little girls need fathers not vigilantes."

"Little girls…" Star tilts his head back up so she is looking him in the eye, "need a father who will love them. A father who will protect them. A father they can look up to." She cups his cheek in her hand, "She needs a hero." Dick smiles a half-smile, the fears starting to become smaller. "And I know you can be that hero because…" She stops, searching for words and holds his gaze, her green eyes making Dick melt,"…because your mine. You're my hero." Dick laughs and smiles back at her pulling her closer.

"It can't really be that simple." She hugs him back and pulls him toward the door to head back inside. He obliges, turning away from the city lights with one arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sure it's not." He holds the door open for her and she turns to face him before walking in taking his hand in hers and staring him lovingly in the eye. "Just promise me you will fight for her." Dick leans down and presses his forehead against hers.

"With everything I've got." Satisfied she kisses him for a while until he picks her up and carries her back to their door.

* * *

Sometime while he was lost in the memory Dick had managed to stop crying and instead of guilt and anger he had discovered a new kind of conviction within himself. He had promised Star he would fight for Cass; that he would be her hero. When did he forget about that promise? The thought of putting his uniform back on and becoming Robin again still felt wrong but the part of him that he had tried to drown with the booze was coming back and reminding him that he was a hero and he couldn't give that up any easier than he could give up Cassandra. Walle had been right to take her away but Dick was determined not to give him any reason to keep their family apart. He wanders into his room and surveys the damage; empty beer cans, broken glass, the smell of alcohol. The picture of Star on the nightstand calls to him and he can still hear her voice: _'..fight for her.'_ He runs his finger over the cool glass still fighting the urge to go get a drink to calm the pain and guilt that spring to his mind when he thinks of her death, and for once he has enough fight in him to defeat the urge.


	5. Demons Don't Die

_Chapter five of Inherit The Night. Finally able to see the error of his ways Dick is attempting to right his wrongs but of course bad habits die hard. Can he manage to hold on and pull it together in time to save his friends? _

_So sorry for the delay! School has been nuts but thank you so muc for taking the time to read and please, please, please review. I love hearing what you guys think about the story and any suggestions you have are always welcome. Thanks again :)_

_I do not own any of these characters. They are based on and owned by DC Nation._

* * *

**Demons Don't Die:**

Everyday ever since Star died had been tough but the past two days had been brutal. He was determined to clean himself up and get his daughter back but the temptation drove Dick crazy. He would not go back to drinking. It was a stupid mistake he had made in a moment of weakness and it had done nothing but screw with his memory and make his life worse. He knew that now and believed it was true without a shadow of a doubt. Knowing that and thinking of Cass made quitting on the booze a no-brainer for Dick, but nothing was ever that simple. Alcohol numbed the senses and without it everything hurt. It hurt missing Star. It hurt missing Cass. It hurt regretting what he had said to his friends. It hurt remembering that had he could have prevented it – all of it. The only thing that didn't hurt was the drinking and he hated that. He was afraid of another moment of weakness; he trusted his resolve but he did not trust himself. The day before, when he thought he was about to cave and in a desperate craze, he found a pair of scissors, cut all of his credit cards in half, and threw the cash in his wallet out of the kitchen window. Satisfied that he at least delayed a relapse he felt himself relax a little for the first time, not that it lasted long.

Even now, standing alone in his kitchen, tossing his cell phone back and forth between his hands, Dick cannot avoid the tiny voices in his head trying to encourage and break him. One always there to remind him of what he's fighting for and telling him he has the strength to do it; the voice is Star's. Hearing it makes him even more determined and sure of himself. The other voice, the devil on his shoulder, is eerily familiar and constantly torments him. It reminds him of all his mistakes and tries to push him over the edge trying to convince him that he isn't worth the effort that he isn't good enough. Now he always listens to the one that sounds like Star and does what he has to despite the torment and guilt.

He stops tossing the phone and stares down at its shiny black screen trying to decide whether or not to call Walle yet. _A_ _little over two days without a drink… too soon?_ Walle won't give Cass back unless Dick proves he cleaned himself up, or at least is on the right track and Dick is worried that his is not there yet. _How long am I supposed to wait? A week? A month?_ Shaking his head he puts the phone on the table still trying to work out what he would even say to Walle; "sorry" didn't even come close to how he felt. The faintest urge for a drink sparks in his brain and spooks Dick making him leave the kitchen so that the empty alcohol cabinet is out of his range of sight.

He wanders into his bedroom whispering "occupy yourself" to himself a few times. Finding nothing to do, he heads into the bathroom and grabs his toothbrush to brush his teeth for the second time in one morning. The minty taste and foam don't do much to distract him and brushing doesn't take very long so it's over too soon. He walks back into his room looking for something to occupy his hands if not his brain. The bed is already made, he did laundry the day before, and he cleaned the bathroom the night before after he had woken up in the middle of the night. He stares at the flat screen on the wall opposite his bed and shakes his head. He doesn't have the attention span for television, nor the patience to read, and he is too keyed-up and antsy to sit in one place anyway. Before all of this, when he had a lot on his mind or felt lost, he would go out on patrol and it always gave him clarity and he felt better afterwards. Part of him wants to do that now, it's natural – it makes sense. He can't bear the thought of putting his uniform back on though. Robin was gone and Dick would just have to move on.

Unable to come up with anything he wanders back into the bathroom and picks his toothbrush back up for the third time. As soon as he begins to brush he hears pounding on the front door. He stares at the counter for a moment holding the toothbrush stationary in his mouth. _Who would be here?_ He removes the toothbrush and starts to rinse. _Probably the Titans or Bruce… apologies start now._ He snatches a towel and dries his chin when suddenly the pounding stops and there is a faint creek as the door opens.

"Dick I swear to God! You better be sober!" _Artemis?_ He throws the towel down and walks hurriedly out of his room. "Dick! Where the he-" She runs into him at the doorway to his room. Her blonde hair is pulled into a pony tail on the top of her head, she is wearing dark jeans and a blue hoodie Dick suspects is Walle's because it is too big for her. Suddenly he feels the sting of her palm on his cheek and takes a step back in surprise. "You all there? Or do I have to hit you again…" Her body tenses and she raises her arm slightly as if anticipating having to pelt him once more.

"Trust me; I was all here before you hit me to begin with." He rubs the side of his face. _Ow! Totally forgot how strong she is._ "How did you get in here?"

"Walle and I have your spare key remember?" Dick nods as she jingles a key chain in front of his face. "You swear to me that you are completely sober right now?" Dick winces at the fact that she didn't believe him but he can't blame her for the doubt.

"Yeah…" He drops his hand from his cheek, "I swear." He meets her brown eyes and notices it for the first time; there's something wrong. His heart drops as he starts to process different scenarios all of which involving Cass fatally injured somehow. "What happened?" He pushes past her into the hallway before she can speak and searches the living room and kitchen for Walle but they are both empty. "Where's Walle?" He turns back to her watching as she tries to hold herself together. Seeing one of his best friends, especially someone as strong and tough as Artemis, like that cuts him deeply and he is overwhelmed with the urge to help her making him forget his guilt for a moment. He walks over and grabs her shoulders gently waiting for her to look up at him.

"He's got Walle." A shiver runs through Dick carrying the guilt and shame right back into him along with a stronger concoction of disbelief and fear. He grips her shoulders a little bit tighter and hopes he is wrong.

"Who?"

"Slade." She finally meets his eyes. Hers are a brown mixture of fear for Walle, determination to rescue him, and terror at the thought of losing him. Feelings Dick knows all too well. "Yesterday, obviously we weren't really expecting him." _He went over a cliff! I saw it!_ Dick has to remind himself to breathe. _It can't be… Ray and Cy were looking for the body._ He drops his arms from her shoulders and interlocks his hands behind his head trying to calm himself enough to think straight.

"The Titans never found the body." He remembers Raven's phone call. _I knew the whole time! _He mentally kicks himself, yet another way he has screwed up. What was Slade so determined to do? Destroy everything he cared about? _Cass!_ He drops his arms and his throat constricts. "Artemis, where is Cassandra?"

"She's fine don't worry, a little shaken up I'm sure, but, she's fine. She's safe." Shockingly Dick doesn't start to relax. "I left her with the Team; you know how much M'Gann loves to babysit." Artemis' attempt at humor reminds Dick that they don't have much time if they want Walle back alive. "Slade came for Cass…" Dick nods and starts for the living room.

"I know." He walks to the far wall and places his palm on the side of the bookshelf and waits impatiently as it slides to the side and a large safe opens up into the wall. There was no way to know it was there unless you were told, exactly the way Dick designed it and built it when they first moved in – couldn't have anyone stumbling upon their uniforms or his weapons. He sucks in a breath; _Guess Robin isn't quite finished yet._ He reaches in and pulls out the strong flexible fabric but it's ripped to shreds. _What?_

"What happened, did you forget to stitch it back up?" He grabs the two extras he keeps in the safe throwing them back when he realizes that they are just as torn up. He shakes his head at the safe trying to figure out how it happened; no one could have gotten to them besides himself. _Oh no_… He begins to vaguely remember taking a knife to them; a fuzzy memory of guilt and frustration gone wild.

"It was me." He reaches further into the safe looking for anything to wear that he can fight in besides the jeans currently on his body. "When I was drunk!" He spits contempt at himself.

"Nothing you can do about it now." Dick nods curtly and pulls out training clothes made of the same material as his suit only slightly different; the shirt is long sleeved and both the shirt and pants are a thinner.

"These will have to do." He dresses quickly, his training taking over. Thankfully he hadn't destroyed his boots, utility belt, and mask; the latter two being things he couldn't do without. A small part of him likes the all black and cape-less look but he has no time to entertain it. While he changes Artemis pulls of her civilian clothes, already wearing her uniform underneath and puts on her mask. "How did you get here?"

"Motorcycle is in the ally." She motions toward the kitchen window while strapping her quiver to her back. "Do you know where we should even start?" Dick stops halfway to the window; everything Slade had been doing was aimed at him. _Slade wants me to see this…_ "Dick," Artemis stands right next to him, "do we even have a shot?" her voice is broken; she's terrified, and rightly so.

"Trust me…" Dick looks her in the eye, his determination and promise clear, "Slade is not getting away with this. I. Will. Take. Him. Down." Artemis nods and follows him out of the window so no one will see them leave his condo in uniform. _I am not burying anymore of the people I love._ His panic is slowly consumed by anger until all is left is Dick's tenacity and rage.

* * *

Abandoned and deserted the military base looms on the Cliffside like the ruins of a once great society. Crouched behind an old bunker just to the side of the main building Dick finds his eyes are drawn down the path where just past his range of vision is the place where Star died. A horror that felt so long ago yet still stung as if it had happened yesterday. He turns his gaze to the main building, _Slade is going to pay._

"You sure he's in there?" Artemis crouches next to him, her eyes glued to the entrance. Dick hesitates; the last time he was here he had gone into that building because it was the most obvious choice but it had been a mistake and it had cost Star her life. He looks between the building and the direction down the path again.

"I'm sure." This time was different. Slade wants to be found. Artemis turns back to the building taking a deep breath; Dick watches her suddenly not wanting her help. The last thing he wants is another person in there that could end up getting hurt. _She has never fought Slade, never, not once…_ He looks between the building and Artemis once again. _She doesn't know what she is getting into. Slade is… Slade is lethal. He is calculating and dangerously precise. _His eyes travel back to the pathway and he can almost see himself running in the direction of the field only to be too late. _Slade is mine._ His eyes narrow on the door. "Look, Artemis I think it would be – "

"You tell me to wait outside and I swear I will knock you out cold, leave you tied to a tree, and go in alone." She doesn't drop her watch on the door and her face remains stoic.

"You don't know what you are dealing with." She huffs and he can guess what she is thinking; _So what? We beat impossible odds as kids how is this any different?_ "You don't know Slade… I do." She huffs mockingly once again in response. "Don't you get it, one little mistake and it won't just be Walle, it will be you too!" She turns on him her voice and angry whisper as she tries to keep herself from yelling.

"Do you think I care!" She holds his stare, one hand on her bow and the other balled into a strong fist. "We both love Walle and there is no way I am sitting on the sidelines while you go in there and try to get him out. You need back up and I'm the best choice you've got so shut up and deal with it." Dick opens his mouth to protest but she cuts him off again. "And there is no way in hell I am letting you go in alone because you have issues when it comes to Slade. You always have and you are just too stubborn to admit it so either use what you know to get us in there and out alive or get out of my way!" _You're wrong;_ he thinks to himself, _I know I have issues._ There is no use objecting.

"We are wasting time."

"You want to move in before the sun goes down? This place is pretty open…" She looks around at the long shadows cast by the setting sun the tension still in her voice. "Even with the shadows he's going to see us coming. Or whoever he has watching will at least."

"There is no one watching. It's just Slade." Artemis raises an eyebrow underneath her mask. "I had the Titans take a more offensive approach with Slade, after Terra and his resurrection or whatever it was; I wanted to make sure he couldn't get that kind of power again." She continues to look at him waiting for more, Dick looks back at the main building half thinking of a plan to get in. "We all but destroyed his normal haunts in a couple of fights and eventually he gave up on his robot henchmen and took us, well, me, on head-to-head but he got more dangerous and then he started getting desperate. At least that's what I thought…" Dick rubs the back of his neck. "I know now he was just trying to get at me, why… well I'm still working on that part."

"So we just walk in through the front door?" Artemis stands up and motions toward the front door disbelievingly. Dick surveys the scene one more time thinking that there is no way Slade isn't already at least expecting him, but Artemis, she won't be his major concern. He notices a ladder on the side of the building nods to himself.

"No… I walk in the front door." Artemis begins to get annoyed and starts to berate him for expecting her to sit out but he cuts her off. "And you..." he points to the ladder, "find a way in through the roof." She turns and follows the line of his finger to the rusted old gray ladder and takes a step toward it.

"What makes you think this is a good idea?" She waits but he doesn't respond, instead Dick finds his eyes are glued to the doors and his brain is starting to be bombarded by the devil on his shoulder. It takes much of his mental will power to ignore the demon. "You aren't trying to slow me down so you can have him all to yourself, right?"

"Slade's expecting me, and he knows I know that, but you… you he doesn't know." Dick looks between the ladder and the door again; _you have that advantage._ "He is going to be much too preoccupied with me to seriously consider that you might be sneaking in through the ceiling." Artemis nods and turns to head toward the ladder but stops after a few steps and turns back to him.

"Hey!" Dick nods to tell her he's listening, "We will save him. You are one of the best heroes I know, don't forget that." She turns and jogs the rest of the way to the ladder jumping the first few rungs and climbing up quickly.

Dick stops directly in front of the doors noticing that the padlock is already broken and lying in the dirt in front of him. Slade is just a few feet away. Walle is just a few feet away. He takes a deep breath hesitating before he moves to pull open the door. The horrid voice in his head grows louder screaming at him with malicious delight. _You can't do this; you are not a hero!_ Dick fights the thought; a hero is all he has ever been. _The only thing you are going to accomplish is getting Walle killed. Do you really want to watch him die too? Might as well turn around and leave._ He balls his hand into a fist. _Go home and curl up with a bottle, that's all you really want to do. Just go!_ He shakes his head telling himself it isn't true and searches for something to ground himself. _Oh stop! Really this is pathetic; you are pathetic. You are a failure, you couldn't even protect your family and now you've gotten your two best friends mixed up with this._ "Shut up!" He growls to the harsh voice through his teeth. _Say goodbye to them. You just sent them to their deaths, don't feel too bad… it's not like there is anything you can do about it now. Besides watch, of course. _"Shut up! Shut up!" _They are going to die_… the voice is laughing at him. "No!" Dick stares at the door and tries to force the laughter out finally able to identify it as Slade's. It's been Slade's voice the whole time. _It's all your fault!_ He keeps laughing. "No. It. Is. Not." The laughing stops. "It's yours." He feels the rage and urgency surge within him and yanks the door open walking into the dark hallway wanting nothing more than to find Slade and finally put an end to it.


	6. Endgame - Part 1

_Chapter six of Inherit the Night. Determined to prove himself and protect the people he loves, Dick charges into the scene of his greatest mistake but will he be too late? Can he face Slade?_

_I had to post this in two parts because when i wrote it I didn't expect it to be so long, but I'm posting them at the same time so no horrible cliffhangers. Hope you guys enjoy it and please review! Feedback is always welcome :)_

_I do not own any of the characters, they are the property of DC Nation._

* * *

**Endgame – Part 1:**

The only light in the hallway seeps in through the cracks in the door and Dick hesitates before moving any further into the building. Slade could be anywhere in the darkness ready to spring on him. He moves to the wall pressing his back against it so he knows nothing can come at him from behind and slowly begins to move down the hallway. His bare fingers brush the cool tile behind him feeling the dirty surface. His destination is completely black, and the closer he moves toward the large center room the more the darkness smothers his vision. Training takes over, keeping himself whelmed, he begins to rely more on his hearing than his sight; listening for any movement no matter how small. Something scurries in an air vent above him, Dick stops and readies himself for a fight expecting Slade to fall through the roof but when nothing happens Dick realizes it was likely just a rat running through the ventilation. _Sucks for Artemis, she hates rats._ Thinking of Artemis on the roof or in the ceiling somewhere he hopes that she is smart enough not to drop down into that black room. He knows he wouldn't think twice about doing it; the dark could be his ally if he worked it the right way but the last thing he wanted was Artemis dropping in and being ambushed. He wasn't losing anyone else. Slade had gotten there first and he had always known how to work shadows better than Dick had; Dick had always assumed it was because of his suit; yellow, red, and green never did melt in with the shadows very well. He takes a deep breath quietly and tries to settle his mind; _Just find him._ Finally his fingers find an edge; the corner of the hallway where the auditorium-like room opens up.

He slinks around the corner, still hugging the wall looking for anything in the room to tell him where he could find Walle or Slade. But everything is black, there are no walls, no color whatsoever; the black just goes on and on. _Okay, I'm blind. But I'm not deaf._ He stills his breathing and listens intently, his ears searching for anything to latch onto. Another rat scurries overhead, down the hall it sounds as if the front doors are being shaken in the wind, but there is nothing else. Not even Artemis up on the roof. He starts to get worried, what if he was wrong and Slade wasn't here. Walle could be dead already and all because of another one of his stupid mistakes. _No!_ He can hear Slade taunting him but it's only in his head. _Stay whelmed_, he commands himself. _He's here; you just have to find him. _His hands ball into fists and he reaches out with his hearing hoping to find something.

Dick's eyes widen on the black abyss before him. Someone is breathing. Only quiet raspy breaths but it's still breathing. He listens harder trying to figure out what direction its coming from. They are almost inaudible, silently sucking in the air, as if it is painful to do so. His head angles to the left, drawn toward the sound in the midst of all the sensory deprivation. Whoever it is, they are on the other side of the room and closer to the left wall. But who is it? His first instinct is to assume its Slade but Dick doesn't entertain the thought much. Slade wouldn't give himself away like that especially behind his mask. _It has to be Walle!_ A brief feeling of relief floods over Dick as he lets himself believe that he got there in time. He breathes out carelessly, not having realized he had been holding his breath to begin with.

As he exhales a set of lights turns on, if Slade hadn't known before Dick let him know of his presence by sighing so loudly in such a quiet space. The shock of the light burns his eyes but he forces them to adjust quickly taking in the circle of light just missing the edges of the room. He takes in the empty space; dirty concrete floors, old rusted chairs and tables, no Slade. Dick scans the outer limits of the circle of light knowing full well that Slade is hiding somewhere in the dark. His blood boils knowing that he is so close. Another light goes on illuminating the left wall, immediately his eyes travel to the limp form of Walle sitting chained to an old rusty pipe in a hole in the wall wearing jeans and a blue long sleeve t-shirt with his head hanging down so all that can be seen is his bright orange hair. Without thinking Dick springs forward toward the wall, all thoughts and concerns leaving his mind except to get Walle and get him out.

"I see you're still mourning." Dick stops short; halfway to Walle. Slade's cold voice slices into his brain and for once he knows it isn't just in his head. This is real. "I have to admit Robin I miss the old suit. I never thought you would take it this far." There is a mocking undertone to Slade's comment that Dick tries to ignore along with the urge to scream that he isn't Robin anymore. That he can't be Robin because of Slade. He steals a glance at Walle who is still apparently out cold on the floor. His heart rate is up from sprinting so suddenly and his body is tensed for a fight. He wants that fight. His eyes search the perimeter of his little area of light for any sign of Slade waiting for him to lunge but he doesn't. He looks back at Walle limp on the floor and decides he is the priority no matter how much he wants to make Slade pay. Cautiously he begins to inch toward Walle expecting to be attacked with every step. Amazingly Slade doesn't even say another word let alone jump out of the shadows. Dick rushes through the last two feet of distance and shoves Walle's head up gripping him by the shoulders.

"Hey, c'mon man talk to me." Dick looks around again checking to make sure Slade isn't sneaking up on them. "Wake up!" Walle still doesn't respond, his head leans down on his shoulder and his eyes are closed loosely, he's obviously beat up but there isn't time for Dick to inspect his injuries. Uncomfortable with his back exposed, Dick rotates to the other side of Walle so he is facing the open instead of the wall and can see the rest of the room behind Walle. He looks down at Walle again, praying that he is just unconscious and not dead. He notices the slight rise and fall of Walle's chest; _He's breathing!_ Dick starts to smack his cheek, "Wake up!" After a few seconds Walle's face contorts and he moves away from the sting of Dick's hand, his eyes fluttering open in the process. "Finally…" Walle looks up at Dick, his green eyes tinged with red from fatigue.

"Hey," Walle smiles groggily at him, "So what brings you here?" _Jokes…_ Dick shakes his head at his friend's misplaced humor feeling grateful that it is still intact…_ jokes are good. _He removes a lock pick from his utility belt and leans over him starting to work at the lock, still glancing up every other second looking for Slade.

"Saving your butt… as usual." Walle snickers in his ear and mumbles something about Dick needing to be saved less than seventy-two hours ago. They fall into silence as Dick tries to get the lock to break and continues scanning for Slade. The silence is unnerving, it makes Dick believe that everything is still going the way Slade wants; like he is being taunted. The only thing Dick had going for himself was Artemis because Slade most likely didn't expect her but even she had yet to arrive and when she did Walle was not going to be happy about that. The lock refuses to open so Dick leans forward further trying to get a better angle on the lock while still protecting his flank but Walle winces at the extra pressure. "What?" He leans back.

"Pretty sure my rib is broken." Dick lets up on the pressure noticing that Walle's breathing is still raspy and a little bit shallow. If his rib is broken then there's a chance it punctured his lung and the last thing Dick should do is push it further in by leaning all over it. Dick rips his eyes from their vigil and meets Walle's gaze. There is no way he doesn't know what a broken rib could mean for his lung especially when paired with the labored breathing. Dick begins to notice the other injures, his right sleeve is torn and bloody from a long gash on his bicep, some scrapes on his face, and his neck is starting to turn purple with bruises suggesting that Slade choked him out at one point, if there is anything wrong with his legs Dick can't tell through the jeans. "Do it. I can take pain." His eyes are determined, they need to get out and Walle knows it so Dick doesn't question his judgment and leans back over him until he hears the liberating click when the lock is opened. Dick leans back and yanks the chain off of Walle who continues Dick's watch on the rest of the room.

"I believe congratulations are in order." Dick stops in the middle of unwrapping the last coil of chain around Walle's wrists. "He's still alive." Slade's disembodied voice hangs in the air sparking angry emotions inside Dick, ones that no longer want to be forced down and ignored because they shouldn't be priority.

"Where the hell are you!" Dick drops the chain before he finishes letting Walle loose and stands up despite protests from Walle pleading with him not to lose it. He stares out at the white pool of light with his hands balled into fists at his sides. Out of his peripheral vision he watches Walle struggle against his injured arm and the chain still trying to talk Dick down. Slade's sadistic laugh fills the room and Dick watches as he steps out of the shadows on the other side of the light. Dick clenches his jaw and fights hard against himself not to be rash and careless and just take him down because he knows that is exactly what Slade wants.

"Well… congratulations." Slade moves toward them slowly with a confident swagger. _There is no way he isn't injured. _Dick scrutinizes his gait and movement expecting to see some kind of hitch or limp from the fall off the cliff but there is nothing he can see. Slade continues forward forcing Dick to become uneasy and step in front of Walle protectively. Slade cackles, a dark sinister sound, and stops halfway to them. "Congratulations aside Robin, I'm afraid neither of you will be leaving here alive." Dick narrows his eyes at Slade sure that underneath that mask he has a smug smile plastered across his face; _We'll see who walks out-_

"He's baiting you!" Walle whispers harshly behind him still struggling against the last bit of chain. "Don't lose it, okay? That is just what he wants." Dick can feel his heart pounding, adrenaline already coursing through his veins and his muscles twitching for a fight. This was why he came. He came to get even and now is his chance. When Dick leaves that building, whether he walks out or he's carried out in a body bag; it is going to be the end of it.

"It's too late." His voice is cold and angry and Dick doesn't take his eyes off of Slade while he speaks. "I've already lost it." _I did the minute Star died. _He swears he can see the sadistic smile creeping over Slade's mask. "And we are not going to be the ones leaving this place in body bags." Walle tries to reason with Dick and keep him from doing something he will regret but Dick is deaf to him.

Slade takes a small step forward and the small part of Dick's brain that is still relying on training knows he did it to test how far he can push Dick before he takes the offensive. Dick moves to take a step forward as well on an impulse but stops himself short, leaning back on his heel; holding his ground. _Think! Don't be an idiot…_ Dick surveys the room again; the floor between them is for the most part empty making it easy fighting ground nothing to use for leverage but Dick knows that could either work for or against him. He knows he can't let Slade out of the light or else he will be completely vulnerable. Slade takes another step forward but stops; _What is he waiting for?_ Slade usually took the offensive, a small flicker of anxiety rises in Dick as if there is something going on here that he doesn't know, some plan Slade has in motion. Then another idea dawns on him; _He wants the defensive… He is injured, just not showing it._ A smirk tugs at Dick's lips knowing that he's got Slade at a disadvantage, granted a minute one considering Slade's affinity for pain tolerance, but it's something he can exploit. _I have to push him to the offensive…_ Dick moves forward slightly fighting the urge to rush forward. He doesn't have the patience to bait Slade like he needs to; he wants to fight and he doesn't want to wait for it. Slade responds by hunkering down in his stance expecting an attack Dick desperately wants to throw but doesn't. Both of them finally react when Artemis falls through an air vent opening just behind Slade sending an arrow at his chest.

Behind Dick Walle yells in surprise at watching his girlfriend drop into the room and the sound of chains clanking against pipes fills the silence as Walle pulls harder against the restraint. Slade recovered quickly from the surprise and managed to doge the arrow which instead blew up against the wall. In the chaos Slade decided Artemis was the more prominent threat over Dick considering she was shooting arrows at him and therefore put Slade on the defensive; exactly where he wants to be. Dick springs into action tearing after Slade as he dodges arrows. Artemis is relentless, firing arrow after arrow without fault and standing her ground where she fell in the first place. Slade gets stuck about fifteen feet from her deflecting the arrows that come in a continuous stream his arms held up to smack them away as they come. Artemis catches sight of Dick coming up behind Slade and glares at him.

"No! Get him out of here!" By him she means Walle who is still clanking away at the chain likely having issues as a result of his injured arm. Dick stops torn between listening to her like he knows he should and taking Slade down from behind like he desperately wants to do. "I've got this just do it!" Dick takes a step forward not willing to listen and Artemis shoots an arrow closer to him than Slade; Dick looks up at her bewildered. "Now!" Begrudgingly Dick retreats quickly to Walle and pulls the last length of chain out from around his wrists and the pipe.

"You brought Artemis here!?" Walle screams at him his green eyes blazing.

"She didn't exactly give me a choice." Before Walle can yell more Dick cuts him off, "Stop yelling at me and let's help her, can you run?" Walle moves to get up wincing from his injuries.

"Don't look at me – Artemis! Pay attention!" Dick looks up seeing what Walle did; Artemis took two seconds to check and make sure Walle was getting up but it was two seconds too long and Slade managed to move closer grabbing her bow and throwing her to the ground. Dick leaves Walle still kneeling on the group and runs back toward Artemis and Slade who are rolling around on the ground trading punches. Artemis manages to land a few solid jabs to his chest and face and rolls out from under him kicking him in the side and sending Slade across the floor closer to Dick. She reaches for her crossbow out of her quiver and loads a shot that clips Slade in the shoulder as he tries to stand up.

Dick grabs Slade from behind and spins him around bringing him down hard on his knee letting him fall back to the ground. From the floor Slade pulls on Dick's back leg making him lose his balance and fall to the ground as well. In such close proximity Dick's desire to make Slade pay grows knowing he is finally within range of making that happen. Dick kicks his leg out of Slade's grasp and turns over punching him in the process while Artemis grabs Slade around the neck at the same time. Dick meets her eyes for a second, her hair starting to fall out of her pony-tail in thin blonde wisps and her face set in determination. Dick scrambles to his feet as Slade elbows Artemis in the side, she lets out a small yelp but doesn't let him go until he trips her and twists her elbow to make her let go.

Slade moves to step on her head so Dick tackles him and they both end up on the ground again rolling over each other in Walle's direction. Dick is at a disadvantage; Slade is bigger and underneath him the best Dick can do is keep his arms in protecting his center. Every blow feels as if his arms are being hit by a baseball bat but he has no time to make a move with how fast the punches come. _I am not going to let you win!_ Sacrificing a painful blow to his kidney Dick shoves his fist into Slade's throat making him cough and lean to the side. Ignoring the pain Dick forces Slade over the rest of the way so he has the advantage. He tries to pin Slade but it doesn't last; Slade hits the pressure point in his neck and Dick starts seeing spots. Without missing a beat Slade is back punching Dick's abdomen and this time Dick has trouble pulling his arms in leaving himself open. Every shot knocks the breath out of Dick and he starts to fear he will pass out; _Fight! Damn it, fight!_ Dick grips Slade's shoulders and tries to force his knee up but only manages to get up off the ground a few inches before Slade slams him back down smacking his head into the concrete.

A hand reaches around Slade and yanks him off Dick allowing him to take a breath. Walle tries to put Slade into a head lock but Slade manages to grab his injured arm and force him to let go. A pained yell escapes Walle's mouth and he tries to elbow Slade but Slade twists his arm more and throws him right over his head into the wall. Walle's back connects with the tile and he falls to the ground in a crumpled heap. Momentarily forgetting Slade, Dick moves to run to his friend but his leg is yanked in the other direction, he turns using his other leg to kick Slade in the face as hard as he can to force him to let go. Dick jumps to his feet as Artemis delivers a round house kick to Slade's head from behind making him stumble. She takes advantage of the disorientation and hits him with two more round houses; one to his abdomen and one to his head. Slade grunts when she hits his chest, _Injury has to be there. _Dick winds up to punch him in the solar plexus but Slade catches his fist and throws him to his side.

Dick crashes painfully into a rusty old chair feeling that his shirt ripped along his left shoulder. He looks up and watches as Slade throws an explosive at Artemis which sends her flying into the opposite wall with a loud crack and scream. She lands on her back at the base of the wall, Dick starts to push himself up but his left arm crumbles underneath him and he falls back to the ground in pain like his shoulder is being stabbed. He looks back up noticing Artemis lying unmoving on the ground and then at Walle who is also, and once again, knocked out cold. A knot forms in his stomach seeing his friends lying there beaten and broken all because of him. He turns to look for Slade; _it's not over yet._ He finds Slade walking calmly in Artemis's direction twirling a twinkling object in his hand. _A knife! No!_ Dick forces himself to ignore the pain and finds strength in his rage pushing himself to get up.

He runs after Slade shoving him back hastily and standing defensively in front of Artemis. He takes a quick glance at her lying unconscious on the ground; she has a few scrapes along her arms and face but what really worries him is the thick line of blood seeping into her hair from a cut slightly above her mask. Panic rises in his throat reminding him of the helplessness he felt when Star died and Dick fights to keep his breathing even. _Stay whelmed! _He turns back to Slade standing a few feet in front of him clutching his knife. _This is all because of him! Everything is always because of him! _Involuntarily Dick's hands ball into fists and his eyes narrow into slits.

"What? No witty comment? I'm disappointed." Slade's voice drips contempt and Dick feels his jaw clench.

"You are a sadistic maniac and you would be smart to leave them alone." Dick motions to Artemis with his fist, "How's that?" Slade tosses the knife to his other hand and Dick jumps at the sudden movement.

"You can do better than that." Slade laughs making Dick's stomach churn with anger and hate. _You want to see what I can do? I'll rip you to shreds is what I'll do!_ "As for your friends…" Slade watches as the knife spins in his hand reflecting fragments of light. "I just can't do that." The knife stops and Slade looks up. "You are all going to die." Dick's heart rate speeds up again. "The only question is; would you like to go first or watch me end them before?"

"How about I end you instead…" Dick moves forward going for Slade's chest, what he assumes to be injured and is met by an attempted swipe with his knife. Dick narrowly misses it and hits Slade with an uppercut to the jaw making him step back but he recovers quickly. Dick manages to get a hold of Slade's wrist and twists the knife out of it but receives a jab to his jaw in return. He stumbles spitting out blood barely missing a hammer kick to his head and catching Slade's leg as it comes down then throwing him to the side. Dick kicks him in the side confirming the presence of an injury when Slade yelps and rolls over gripping his side. The next time he tries to kick it however Slade traps his foot and yanks it to the side making Dick lose his footing and fall to the ground landing on his bad shoulder. He clamps his mouth shut to keep from screaming out in pain. Slade is on top of him in seconds once again delivering punch after punch but Dick forces himself through it catching Slade's elbow using it as leverage to try to shove him over. Slade breaks free of his grasp and forces him back down.

"Face it Robin you can't win."

"That's what you think…" Dick won't dare admit that he may truly be on the path to losing this fight; at least not on Slade's terms. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me." He continues to struggle against Slade's crushing weight.

"You never could beat me before." He chuckles to himself, a little less zealous than before which Dick suspects is a result of the irritated injury. "What makes you think you can do it now? All alone too I might add." _You killed Star…_ drawing strength from a new wave of anger Dick palms Slade's injured side and forces him to roll over so Dick has the high ground.

"Thanks to you…" Dick leans his elbow on Slade's throat. "I've got nothing to lose." Slade lets out a muffled laugh and shoves his leg up kicking Dick over his head and scrambling to his feet. Years of acrobatic training kick in and Dick flips landing crouched just in front of where Slade was pinned.

"You're wrong." Slade begins to walk to the side slowly. "You think just because Starfire is gone you have nothing left to lose."

"She isn't just gone, you killed her!" Dick yells letting all of his rage and anger fill him up until he is seeing red; vengeance clear in his mind.

"Look around you Robin…" They mimic each other's moves, moving in a circle. Slade opens his arms and motions to the room. "You have plenty to lose. The Titans, your friends…" Dick looks back at his two friends both still out cold on the ground. "Not to mention that pretty little girl of yours." Dick's head snaps back to Slade who again is laughing to himself_. Cass… _icy fear at the thought of anything happening to her shivers through his body. "Oh yes Robin you have plenty to lose. And I'm going to take it all away."

"You aren't going to touch her!" Dick stops moving and so does Slade. "You aren't going to touch any of them."

"And who is going to stop me? You?" The stakes to win go up; everyone he ever cared about is at risk. Slade will never give up until they are all gone. Dick can't figure out why Slade wants to hurt him so horribly but he knows if he doesn't end it now then there is no stopping him. Slade reaches down and picks his knife back up off of the ground; _damn it! Why did I let him get so close to that… rookie mistake!_ "Well, here's your shot."


	7. Endgame - Part 2

_Chapter seven of Inherit the Night. After watching his friends fall at Slade's hand and with the pressure to somehow keep them alive on his shoulders Dick must not only fight Slade but he must fight his own inner battles. Can he save them and defeat Slade while still holding on to who he is and what he stands for? Or will vengence prove too tempting? _

_Here is part two, like i promised :) Please tell me your thoughts no matter what they are, i appreciate them all. Enjoy!_

_I do not own these characters, they are the property of DC Nation._

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**Endgame – Part 2:**

Slade hurls an explosive at Dick and he jumps out of the way rolling across the floor stopping just short of another rusted chair. Slade tackles him while he tries to get up and Dick's head hits the chairs leg on his way down. Blinking back the gray spots in his vision Dick misses Slade's arm and feel the sharp pain as his knife Slices through the skin just under Dick's rib cage. Instinctively, Dick pushes Slade and his knife back; off of him. He tries to scramble back but Slade catches his leg again and pulls him back. Dick rotates underneath him to throw a punch only connecting with Slade's forearm as he slams Dick's hand back onto the concrete and then holding it down with his foot; crushing his wrist under the side of his boot. Dick's other arm is just as useless while Slade pins it to the floor above Dick's head. Dick sucks in a breath as Slade places the blade against his throat. He can't die. Everyone else he loves will die if he doesn't win now. An overwhelming sense of hopelessness floods over him like he felt when Star died as he starts to feel as though there is no way he can win. Slade has always been too good. Nothing he ever did was enough; he never stopped him and now he never would. Why had Slade fixated on him so much?

"I told you…" Slade presses the blade a little firmer to Dick's throat as if he hadn't already noticed its presence, "you can't win." The pressure on Dick's wrist increases under Slade's boot and Dick groans feeling his bones start to crack. "Lucky for you I'm not going to kill you just yet." _No… _Slade removes the knife and uses it to point in Artemis's direction. "I'm going to make you watch." Dick begins to struggle against Slade's grip trying to pull his arm free from underneath his foot.

"Leave them alone it's me you want not –" Slade places the knife back at his throat this time with enough force that Dick feels a small prick. His body stays tense but he stops struggling. Nothing Dick can say or do will keep Slade from going after his friends or his family. He fights hot angry tears knowing he can't cry. _It's all my fault_… everyone he ever cared for is condemned all because he did something to push Slade over the edge. _What did I do?_ "Why…" He asks it quietly finding his voice betrays his guilt and pain, "Why me?" Slade leans back ever so slightly pulling the knife back with him Dick assumes Slade is as surprised by the question as Dick was.

"Because you did it to me." Something in Slade's voice makes Dick feel like he is being sincere and not just toying with him regardless Dick finds himself extremely confused. _What? I never did anything… it always the other way around._ "You don't remember?" Dick shakes his head almost imperceptibly. "All those times?" _If he's counting all of the times the Titans fought him that is a really long list…_ Another flash of anger and annoyance fills Dick as he considers the possibility that Slade is just pissed the Titans never let him get away with his plans. _Doesn't make you that special!_ He debates struggling against him again but decides it would be futile anyway. "You were always in my way; with everything! Everything I wanted you were the reason I couldn't have it." His suspicions proven true and Dick gets angry once more.

"You are a criminal, I'm a hero!"

"You even kept me from having my apprentice. I even settled for Terra but **you** made her turn on me!" Dick remembers Terra, how she turned on the Titans all because of how Slade manipulated and used her. He still feels that betrayal as if it just happened. "And of course there was you. We really are so similar…" Dick cringes inwardly hating that it's true on some level. "Why else would I have asked you to be my apprentice?" Memories of being forced into servitude flash through Dick's mind.

"Forced." Dick curtly and angrily corrects Slade showing him that he never forgot what he did.

"I was going to teach you everything I knew. I could have been like a father to you but no, you had to go ruin it!" Slade slams his fist into Dick's chest in anger knocking the wind out of his lungs and Dick struggles to suck in air.

"I have a father…" Dick chokes out his temper starting to flare up a bit again.

"With you I could have done everything and you could have had it too but you had to destroy it for me!" Slade removes the hand pinning Dicks fist to the ground and wraps it around his throat squeezing enough to make it hard for him to suck in a decent breath, naturally Dick's now free hand moves to pull his hand from his throat but Slade's grip is too strong. "You took everything I ever wanted so I'm going to take everything and everyone you ever cared about." The fight starts to come back and Dick claws at Slade's hand around his throat. "I started with Star…" Star's death flashes in front of his eyes and suddenly he can't remember why he gave up on fighting for that vengeance. "And I'm going to finish with that little girl."

"You will never get anywhere near her!" Working against the pain in his shoulder and the lack of oxygen he's getting Dick struggles against Slade's grasp and fights to get out from underneath him. Slade finds his renewed fighting spirit entertaining and laughs softly as he applies more pressure to Dick's already cracking wrist. Dick pushes past the pain though, trying to throw Slade off of him with his knees but he doesn't have enough leverage.

"Her I might not kill though. If she is half the hero you are she will make just as good an apprentice to me, don't you agree?" Dick knows Slade is taunting him but he doesn't care, his anger surges imagining Cass going through what he did.

"Over my dead body…" He spits the words out clearly despite Dick's semi-constricted windpipe.

"Precisely…" Slade leans closer to Dick's face, squeezing a little bit tighter on his throat. Dick stares at him his eyes livid with blue fury. "Who knows, maybe I'll be like a father to her." _She already has a father!_ Overcome with new adrenaline and determination from the threat against his only child Dick stops trying to pull Slade's hand from his throat and palm strikes Slade's chin sending him upward with the force. In a blur Slade's hand comes off of Dick's throat but Dick doesn't take the time to catch his breath and instead takes the opportunity to throw Slade off of him with his knees. Startled, Slade doesn't react quickly enough and Dick takes the opportunity to kick hard where he is injured. Dick rushes to his feet and follows Slade as he rolls across the ground clutching his side and hammer kicks him while he tries to stand.

Dick ends up back on the ground when Slade sweeps his legs out from under him but he falls expecting to be pounced on so he's ready when Slade tries to drive the knife into his throat. The knife halts a few inches from his skin where Dick caught Slade's arm but it threatens to close the distance as Slade puts all of his weight on it. Dick drives his fist through Slade's elbow which is holding him up and forces the hand with the knife up and throwing Slade off of him once more. They both flip up onto their feet and circle each other once again; Slade is the first to make a move.

Dick blocks jabs, backing up to avoid swipes from the knife but doesn't pay attention to his surroundings and finds himself backed up against the wall. Slade swipes again with the knife and Dick has no where left to go; _This is going to hurt…_ seeing no other option Dick rushes forward hoping to collide with Slade and only get grazed by the knife on his back but Slade catches on. The knife misses his back but Slade grabs Dick by the collar of his shirt and brings his face down into his knee and then he brings his knee into his chest. Dick tastes blood and his chest feels tight, he brings his arms up and tries to punch Slade's injured side only to have is arm caught and the knife slit across his lower back and around the side of his abdomen. Dick screams out in pain and feels warmth as blood starts to seep down his side. _Don't pass out! Whatever you do, do not pass out! _He forces the pain away, filling his mind with reasons he has to win; to protect Cass, to save Artemis and Walle, to prove to himself that he is a hero, to avenge Star.

With his arm trapped underneath Slade's Dick doesn't see many other options so he lunges forward grabbing onto Slade's shoulder with his free hand. Slade tries to take another swipe with the knife but Dick knees him in the gut before he has the chance causing him to double over and release his other hand. Dick doesn't let up; he knees him again and brings his fist down on his head until Slade is on the floor gasping for breath. Slade's arm shoots up to grab Dick and he sees it coming, catching his hand and twisting it behind Slade's body until the elbow pops and Slade yelps. It's still not enough. Slade throws his leg out and Dick drops to the floor losing his balance stopping the knife and rolling over Slade as he tries to deliver the final blow. Tumbling on the floor Dick pounds on Slade's chest knowing it is his weakest point; letting out all of his anger and anguish on everything Slade did and would have done. Slade comes at him with the knife which Dick catches and twists out of Slade's hand taking it in his own and elbows his jaw sending his head smacking into the ground. In a last ditch effort to force Dick off Slade tries to punch at the knife wound on Dick's side but Dick doesn't even feel it because of all the adrenaline coursing through his body, he forces Slade's now bloody fist down and holds it there with his boot on Slade's wrist. Dick presses hard on Slade's wrist and holds the knife to Slade's neck in exactly the same position Slade had Dick pinned in only minutes before.

"Still think I can't win?" A satisfied smirk finds its way to Dick's lips as he realizes Slade's position; finally beaten. His breathing is labored which Dick assumes is a result of his injured chest; broken ribs most likely, he's pinned with absolutely no leverage, a knife at his throat; completely at Dick's mercy. Dick spits out blood feeling his lip already starting to swell, but he laughs cynically in spite of it. "You lost Slade. Face it. You. Are. Done." _Finally…_ Relief starts to creep over Dick as he starts to accept that he actually won. Slade isn't putting up a fight anymore. He's got nothing left, a knife at his throat and there is nothing he can do about it. Dick's elated thoughts stop short – he stares down at the knife in his hand pressed firmly against Slade's throat as if he is seeing it for the first time. _I… I wouldn't…_ he considers how easy it would be just to slit his throat right now and truly end it.

"You won't do it…" Slade chokes out, obviously having a hard time breathing behind his mask but Dick won't take it off; he doesn't want to see his face – doesn't want to think of him as even remotely close to human. "You can't."

"What you think I don't know how?" Dick presses harder on the blade drawing just a prick of blood. His mind works overtime; _He deserves it! He killed Star!_ Slade flinches and tries to pull away from the blade but he has nowhere to go. _I'd be doing the world a favor._

"But you're Robin…" Slade's voice holds disbelief. He isn't scared to die, just surprised. _No, I'm not! Robin is gone…_ Dick stares down at the drop of blood he drew. _But I'm still me._ "You don't kill anyone. You can't… it just isn't you. It isn't Robin."

"I'm not Robin, not anymore." Dick considers everything Slade did and all the reasons he has to justify himself if he was to press just a little bit harder on the blade. There is a long list of excuses why he could do it and no one would care. There's an even longer list of reason why he wants to do it; desperately wants to do it. But as much as he wants to, he can't – it would be too easy. Dick pulls the knife back, easing off the pressure. "You killed Robin the day you killed Star and believe me I want to avenge them both. I want to, I really do…" The knife clanks loudly as it lands a few feet away. "But that makes me no better than you." Dick pulls some cord from his utility belt and begins to wrap it around the hand he holds pinned to the ground by Slade's head. _Watching you rot in jail is just going to have to be good enough._

"Better than me?" Slade chokes out a laugh as Robin pulls him upright and ties his hands together, still keeping his foot on Slade's wrist until the tie is secure. "You and I might as well be the same person. We were practically cut from the same mold, or have you not noticed all of the similarities?" Dick yanks the rope making it tighter than it probably needs to be but he doesn't want to take any chances before moving on to tie his feet.

"I'm not a killer." Slade scoffs and Dick yanks him up dragging him over to a wall and tying him to a pipe with his hands tied above his head to further minimize his movement, in the same place he found Walle. Exhaustion and pain threaten to overwhelm Dick but he keeps himself from collapsing and dwelling on it knowing he has to get Artemis and Walle out and Slade sent off to Bel Rev Penitentiary. He hesitates before heading over to Walle and turns back to Slade, "And you… you are going to rot in an isolation cell at Bel Rev living with your failure. If I can't kill you, I'll settle for knowing that." Slade starts to laugh again, an unhinged sort of screech. Dick gets angry again wondering what about his own defeat Slade finds so entertaining. Dick crouches down and aggressively shoves him back against the pole, putting pressure on his already damaged chest. "What could possibly be funny about this?" _I swear he is turning into the Joker!_

"I'm not going to Bel Rev." Dick shakes his head in disbelief. "And you aren't going home to your little girl." _Who is going to stop me?_ A creeping feeling like he should know what is going on starts to form in Dick's mind but he can't quite grasp the situation through the haze of anger rising in response to Slade's arrogance even in defeat.

"You lost Slade! Do you not see yourself right now?" Dick shoves him against the pipe again making Slade cough and gasp in pain.

"I had considered the possibility that you would be too much for me so I had to make sure there was something I could do just in case I needed to distract you…" Dick lets go of Slade's suit and feels the gears in his head working toward a conclusion he doesn't want to be true. Dick's eyes look up at the ceiling in the center of the room searching for something to prove him wrong. "I figured your friend was the easiest way to do that but now here we are." _What is he talking about… there aren't any…_ "I told you…" Slade's finger reaches around to his opposite wrist just barely grazing a small red button on his glove; _wireless transmitter… but there aren't any charges over there! What?_ "…you aren't leaving this place alive. Apparently neither am I." Just as Dick realizes the charges are only above them and not all over the room there is a violent burst of light and sound erupts from overhead.

Everything happens in a split second but it feels like hours to him; the world literally coming tumbling down around him. Dick jumps to his right, away from the wall and the falling rubble. Everything is chaos; dust is everywhere and the world is consumed with crashing rock and snapping metal. Dick throws his arms over his head to protect his head and runs as fast as he can but he isn't quick enough and something falls onto him pinning his right leg to the ground, he yells from the pain of the impact and hits the ground hard striking his head expecting more to fall from the ceiling and bury him. He sits there grinding his teeth against the pain in his leg and with his arms covering his head in a measly attempt at protection until all of the crashing stops and the dust begins to settle. He lifts his head to find he miraculously made it to the edge of the blast radius and luckily was only hit by the large cement piece agonizingly crushing his lower right leg. He looks to find he can't see Slade underneath all of the rubble and can't believe that he didn't figure it out sooner. He stares at the pile of debris and for once he feels certain that Slade really is gone. He closes his eyes and lets that fact sink in; Slade will never hurt anyone ever again. True relief begins to wash over him. He knows he will have to dig Slade out eventually but decides that for once he should forget Slade and think about his friends.

Walle is invisible behind the pile of rubble and Dick worries that he wasn't quite out of range of the debris so he pushes the large concrete piece off of his leg. The whole time the wrist Slade had pinned with his boot screams in protest and Dick has to fight through a ringing in his ear from being in such close proximity to the explosives when then blew, he's sure if he reached up to feel his ear he would find blood. He powers through it anyway until the rock is gone and he can try to stand. His right leg won't take the weight forcing him to limp around the rubble where he finds Artemis still out cold on the other side of the room and Walle groggy but starting to get up just barely outside of the debris field. Looking at Walle's scrunched up eyes and confused expression Dick can't help but think it looks as if he was rudely awakened from a nice nap, his eyes travel to see Dick limping across the room toward Artemis and they widen into large green orbs.

"What the – Dude you look terrible! What happened to Artemis?" Walle starts to pick himself up using his uninjured arm. "Where's Slade and wh – what happened to the ceiling?" A few feet from Artemis Dick notices that her chest is still moving up and down and he exhales some anxiety grateful to find that she is still breathing.

"Some alarm clock right?" Walle pushes himself all the way up and heads in their direction at an awkward jog and Dick falls to his knees at Artemis's side looking at her head which has thankfully stopped bleeding. He starts to shake her shoulder, smacking her cheeks like he did to Walle until her eyes start to flutter and Walle kneels beside him.

"She okay?" They both watch as Artemis opens her eyes and has the same confused look Walle did, her hand travelling to her head almost involuntarily. After a few seconds she looks at them both and seems to remember what was happening when she was knocked out and tries to get up. Walle puts his hands on her shoulders pushing her down gently, "Whoa babe, stay down okay. That looks nasty…" He motions to the cut on her head, "You might have a concussion." She starts to tell him to shut up but Dick interrupts her.

"He's right; you hit this wall pretty hard."

"You too." Walle points to the space beside Artemis. "Sit." Dick shakes his head and starts to make up an excuse about how he is fine and just needs to get Slade's body out of there but Walle pushes him backwards and makes him lean back on the wall. "You definitely need help… I just pushed you and you actually fell. You, of all people." Dick's eyes travel to the pile of rubble where Slade is buried and suddenly anxiety washes over him again. _What if I'm wrong again? What if he isn't there? I need to know this is done. _Dick starts to get up but gets dizzy and falls backwards into the wall before he even gets onto his feet. Despite the fall and the pain in his chest he tries to get up again only to have Walle hold him down.

"I have to make sure…" Dick tries to fight against him but every muscle in his body is screaming, all of his limbs feel like lead, and he's lost a lot of blood making it hard to resist.

"Dick stop!" Walle pushes him back against the wall; Dick winces at a sharp pain in his shoulder. "It's done. Look, he's buried in concrete and steel." _It's really over?_ Dick stares at Walle with disbelieving eyes; Slade had been such a huge part of his life –always there, always a threat; it didn't feel possible that he could actually be gone. "It's over." Walle holds his gaze until Dick nods handing Walle the Titans communicator from his utility belt to radio in their location and get pickup.

Waiting on the Titans arrival Dick leans back on the wall feeling completely exhausted and closes his eyes. _Slade is gone._ He still finds it hard to believe but it's true. Slowly that starts to really sink in and for the first time he actually feels better. His body is beaten and bloody but he actually feels happy. For a moment he assumes he must be concussed to feel so elated with Star gone and so much of his life still unclear but he can't help it. It's as if before he was gasping for air and now he can finally breathe. A huge wait lifted off of his shoulders. He rests his head back on the wall and smiles sure he can hear Star in his head telling him everything will be alright. With that thought and her memory held in the front of his mind he decides it's as good a time as any to give in to the exhaustion and let himself revel in Slade's absence.

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_Author's Note: This story is coming to an end, be prepared for some Young Justice crossover in the coming chapters._


	8. The Real World

_Chapter eight of Inherit The Night. After defeating his enemy but coming close to his own end in the process Dick must decide what was real and what his world has come to. Who and what is important. _

_Sorry for the delay once again you guys! School just ended so I should have the last couple chapters posted relatively quickly. Hope you enjoy! Please Review! I have a group of friends who want me to write a sequel to this about his daughter and I need your opinions so please comment or message me! Thanks!_

_I do not own these characters, they are the property of DC Nation._

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**The Real World:**

It feels like a dream. Lying there, his whole body stiff and numb, just staring up at the ceiling in the dark. Dick prays that it was. None of it was real. He never turned his back on his friends. He was just dreaming. Slade never went after Cassandra; she is asleep, safe and warm, in her room down the hall. None of it was real. Artemis and Walle are both fine; probably having some stupid argument but they are alright. No one got hurt. It was all a dream. Dick, himself, isn't even injured. He's home in bed and just woke up again like he has done a thousand times before. It's normal. Everything is okay. If he turns his head to the left there she will be curled up with a pillow, her hair spilling out all around her. He can even hear her slow even breathing filling the silence. Star is alive. None of it was real. He imagined all of it. It can't be true

But it is. All of it. Every horrid second.

There is no steady rhythm of breaths next to him no matter how much he wishes there was; just the insistent beeping of the heart monitor confirming that Dick is in fact still alive. His whole body hurts but somehow it feels distant; disconnected from his body. Someone hooked him up to a pain killer and it's keeping the pain – physical and mental – tolerable; as if it's an echo from a long ago time. But he doesn't want the pain killers help. All his life he's had a high pain tolerance and he's hardly ever touched morphine because it diminishes that tolerance and then he'd have to build it up again. He was always strong enough to go without it. He's determined to keep that strength and make it without any artificial help to numb the pain. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, a pained muffled gasp escaping his lips as he feels a sharp pain in his chest with the expansion of his lungs.

Lights flicker on turning the backs of Dick's eyelids red and slowly he opens his eyes, squinting against the blinding brightness. Dick blinks at the Cave's infirmary taking in the white walls, tiled floors, sterile surfaces, five other hospital beds, and medical equipment. "Welcome back to the land of the living." A loud confident voice hums through the silence followed by a short easy going chuckle, "I have to admit, you had us worried for a while." Dick turns and sees Walle leaning in the doorway wearing a baggy black T-shirt with sweats and Dick notices bandages wrapped around his upper right arm peeking out just below the cuff of his shirt sleeve.

"Walle?" His voice comes out in a hoarse whisper. Flashes of Walle beaten and lying out cold on the floor flash in Dick's mind; he sits there blinking at his friend having trouble believing that he is standing in the doorway and that they are actually back at the Cave.

"No…" Walle rolls his eyes and moves forward a few steps, a slight hitch in his left leg, taking a seat in a padded chair at the side of Dick's bed, "I'm not really Walle." _Here comes the sarcasm…_ Only about a foot away now, Dick can really look at his friend and sees that Walle has some scraps on the side of his face that are scabbed and healing, and the bruises at his throat are starting to yellow. "I know you hit your head a couple times but c'mon man…" Walle raises an orange eyebrow at Dick, "You don't know any other red heads."

"Barbara." Dick's hears only a raspy and tired phantom of his normally strong voice; his vocal chords tired from disuse. _I couldn't have been out for that long…_ He swallows feeling the soreness in his throat from where Slade had gripped him. Walle shrugs and leans back in his chair not impressed. The two boys fall into silence, and Dick takes the opportunity to try and determine what other injuries he received. As he tenses different parts of his body he finds that every part aches especially his left shoulder and most of his abdomen. There is pressure around his chest and the lower left half of his abs suggesting he has bandages there. He can feel the IV needle tapped into his vein at the crook of his right arm. He sucks in a breath once again feeling stabbing in his chest and stares up at the ceiling. "How long was I out?" Dick turns his head to look at Walle, his blue eyes heavy with pain and exhaustion. Walle glances at the clock and exhales tensely before looking Dick in the eye once more.

"A little over two days" Walle pauses and looks down for a moment, "Sixty-two hours, give or take a few minutes maybe." Out of his peripheral vision Dick can see Walle watching him closely, looking for any warning signs that Dick may lose it again or pass back out. "How much do you remember?"

Memories rush to his mind as he stares at the white wall across from the bed. He can still see it all – Slade taunting him, Artemis hitting the wall with a crack, Walle in a crumpled heap on the floor; every single brutal moment. How could he forget? He remembers anger and desperation – fear and hate. He can still feel the fury burning red like fire in his veins. He swallows; the muscles in his throat tight where Slade's fingers wrapped around his neck. The roof on his mouth and his tongue are sticky and dry – more proof of how long he had been out. Dick starts to sit up leaning on his right elbow hoping to minimize pain. "Get me some water will you?" Walle nods and stands up quickly, moving around the bed toward the gray counter on the other side of the room. Sitting up straight Dick's left hand travels to his neck feeling the small scabbed over line where Slade had pressed his knife to him. His brain starts to replay everything chronologically from Artemis yelling at him before he stepped foot inside that black hallway and ending with the roar and tumble of the ceiling caving in on top of Slade.

"Dick? Hey… you all right?" Dick hadn't noticed Walle come back. He stood at the side of the bed again a tall glass of water in his hand and a concerned look etched into the lines of his face. Dick nods and reaches for the water. The cold seeping through the glass onto his fingertips is a welcome change for his senses through the monotony of numbed pain everywhere else. The icy chill wets his dry throat somehow soothing his mind. They sit in silence again; Walle watching and waiting while Dick slowly sips the water staring down at the liquids clear surface. Every time he swallows the muscles in his throat tense and burn but somehow he's grateful for the pain. At least he can feel it. The weight of what could have happened hits him then. A small part of him was sure he was going to die – sure he should have died. He's almost positive that some part of his soul was convinced it had wanted to die. He bites his lower lip at the thought; it's swollen and fat between his teeth – _that would have been abandoning Cass…_ Slade's sick plan takes form in his head and he imagines what would have happened to her if he hadn't won. _Never. No one is ever going to hurt her. _Walle shifts in his seat catching Dick's attention.

"Where's Cass?" Dick looks toward the door half expecting to see her getting into trouble as usual.

"She's around." Walle leans forward in his chair, "How much do you remember?" Dick meets Walle's eyes; two green calculating slits trying to understand what is going on in Dick's head. It's the same thing Dick would do in Walle's place – look for any warning signs from extreme trauma, check for memory loss, in short make sure he won't lose it in a room full of people.

"Walle, where is she?" He can feel himself getting impatient despite his better judgment. He understands what Walle needs to do but it isn't what Dick needs. Dick needs proof that Cassandra is safe. He needs to see her. He needs to hold her and never let her go again. He needs confirmation that she is protected. Walle refuses to answer and instead continues to stare at him waiting patiently for his answer but Dick whips himself into a mild panic. "I want my daughter. Where is Cassandra?" He looks toward the door again but she isn't there; the heart monitor he's hooked up to beeps faster and Dick starts pulling cords off of his chest and the IV out of his arm trying to get out of the bed. Walle jumps up and starts pushing him back down.

"Whoa, okay Dick relax." Walle pushes Dick back onto the bed aggravating his injured shoulder more amongst the rest of the pain at his sudden outburst of motion.

"I just have to see her…" He pushes against Walle's weight grateful for his high pain tolerance. "I have to know she's okay." Walle gives one hard shove, sending Dick into the pillows.

"She's fine!" Dick stops, "Trust me, okay? She's here at the Cave and she is perfectly fine." Walle keeps pressure on Dick's shoulders holding him down as Dick processes the last few seconds. He stares his best friend in the eyes seeing the sincerity and concern engraved into his green irises and knowing he is just as concerned about that little girl as Dick himself is. "You won. She's safe. Okay?" Dick takes a minute to steady himself again, relaxing into the bed; _I won… I did. I won_, he nods slowly and sucks in a breath.

"Yeah… yeah…" Dick nods and places his right hand on Walle's forearm telling him it is alright to let him up. Instead of connected with Walle's skin however, Dick finds his hand is stuck inside a brace cut off halfway up his forearm. "It's over." Walle steps back and starts picking up the chords Dick ripped off from the floor.

"Oh… hold on I've got to go grab another needle for this." He sets the IV line down on the table next to Dick's bed and turns to go back to the cabinets.

"Don't bother." Walle turns back toward Dick with an incredulous expression.

"Needle kind of has to be sterile before I stick it into your arm dude." Walle shakes his head smiling for a moment but then his face becomes graver and he moves back toward the bed fixing Dick with a critical and concerned look. "You do remember that right? You have had all of this training."

"Yeah I do. Still don't bother." Dick sits up in bed putting most of his weight on his left arm to avoid hurting his encased right wrist but sacrificing his left shoulder instead. His chest heaves painfully and the bandaging pulls causing parts of his abdomen to burn; Dick winces and talks through gritted teeth. "I don't want it." Walle looks awkwardly toward the cabinets then back at Dick, his eyes growing wearier the longer he holds his gaze.

"It's not the…" Walle lifts his bandage free arm and scratches the back of his head avoiding eye contact with Dick and walks closer leaning on the edge of Dick's bed. He continues to stare at the cabinet while he talks, "Look I know you are used to just powering through the pain but you really should take the extra help on this one." Dick starts to tell him once again that he doesn't want the help but Walle turns his head to the side meeting his gaze with concerned almost pleading eyes, "You're beat up bad Dick." Dick drops his gaze from Walle's and looks at his legs beneath the sheet; his right leg is fatter and stiffer than the other from a cast. He looks back at Walle, again noticing the scrapes and bruises making him inwardly cringe for the pain he caused his friends.

"How bad?"

"Your fibula is cracked, wrist is fractured, a few cracked ribs…" He pauses for a moment and fidgets with the bandage on his arm. "We had to relocate your left shoulder. There are some cuts on your chest and back; the ones are your chest aren't as bad as the one on your lower back but they all needed stitches. Pretty bad concussion too." _No wonder I can't move._ Walle's shoulders sag a bit and he folds his arms across his chest starring at his shoes. "You lost a lot of blood. Not to mention the concussion…" he speaks quietly more to himself than Dick, "We almost lost you." They make eye contact again and Dick sees how scared Walle must have been. Had it been Walle lying there instead of him Dick knows he would be going crazy worrying about his best friend. He's sure he wouldn't be there if it hadn't been for Walle and Artemis. After everything that is what they would always be – best friends.

"And you and Artemis?"

"We're fine, don't worry…" _Oh don't pull that with me;_ Dick raises his eyebrows at Walle and shakes his head a little. He wants the truth not the sugarcoated glaze over. Walle exhales exasperatedly but goes on. " I've got a couple cracked ribs but I got lucky, no punctured lung…" He half smiles, shrugs, and motions to his right arm, "Couple stitches on my bicep and I had a minor concussion but what can you expect when you get slammed into a wall right? And my knee is twisted pretty bad." He taps his left leg and shrugs again, "But I heal fast, so I should be fine in a couple days."

"I don't doubt it." Dick starts to roll his left shoulder trying to get his body to respond to him. Every time his arm moves it feels as though it will pop out of the socket again; _Get used to it. We are stuck like this for a while._ He mentally coaxes his aching body. "Artemis?"

"Oh her…" Dick stops and raises his eyebrow at Walle shocked to hear him sound annoyed instead of concerned. Walle scratches the side of his face accidentally picking at a scabbed over scrape going on in an annoyed tone, "It's just… okay… she had a bad concussion, not like yours granted but worse than mine, and she passed back out for close to eight hours, she needed stitches on that cut on her forehead and her elbow got twisted pretty bad and what is the first thing she wants to do the second she gets let out of observation?" He pauses for dramatic effect and then bursts out nearly yelling and throwing his arm out in aggravation. "She wants to go training!" Dick laughs a little; _she would_, Walle gives him and incredulous look.

"You're surprised?" Dick stops rolling his shoulder and throws the sheets off of his legs deciding he wants to get up and try walking. "What else would you expect from her? C'mon man. This is Artemis we are talking about."

"She can't even hold a bow!" Walle makes the motion of shooting an arrow with his arms and stands up turning to face Dick swinging his encased left leg off the bed painfully. "Um what do you think you are doing?" He swings his other leg over and leans forward a little stopping when he feels the stitches in his back pull and burn in protest. Every muscle feels like it is being stabbed simultaneously without the pain medication to dilute it. _Okay… I've survived worse. _He stands up on his left leg and tries to test how much weight he can put on the cast little by little trying to distribute his weight more evenly. Something in his lower leg feels like it is grinding his bone down to a pulp and he growls sitting back down_. Alright, maybe not… this might be the worst._

Walle shows up next to him and Dick looks up knowing there is no way he can force his way outof the room in his condition. Walle bites his tongue before speaking, "You going kick and scream if I try to force you into that pain killer?" Dick nods. Walle crosses his arms and looks Dick up and down his face transforming into an annoyed yet amused expression. "And you are going to insist that you are fine, even though you most definitely are not, and keep trying to get up and leave?" Dick shrugs; _he knows me so well_. Walle rubs the back of his neck again, looking between Dick, the door, and the cabinets obviously reluctant to let him go.

"I want to go find Cass…" Walle nods slowly starring past Dick toward the cabinets and mumbles something that sounds like 'yeah I know.' He then motions with his hand signaling Dick to stay put and moves around the bed toward the cabinets in the back of the room. Dick hears him pulling something out of a cabinet from what his ears assume is the left side of the room while Walle talks over the noise.

"I'm not Bruce so I can't exactly give you orders but…" He rounds the bed holding two metal crutches, "Humor me?" Walle holds them out toward Dick who hesitates a bit eyeing them uncomfortably. Hardly any of them at the Cave, or the Tower, ever use crutches or anything of the sort because it was like accepting that you are no longer able to do your job, albeit temporarily, but still you feel useless nonetheless. "It's either these or I go get the wheel chair." Walle pushes the crutches closer to him and Dick takes them quickly.

"No, crutches…" He fastens them beneath his arms and picks himself up relying more on his left arm than his right to protect the fractured wrist but taking all the stress and soreness in his recently relocated shoulder. "See? I can stand. No need for a wheel chair." Walle rolls his eyes and steps back so Dick can lead the way.

It's dizzying work walking on the crutches with all the blood suddenly rushing to his head and every muscle screaming at him to stop and sit down but Dick hobbles on with Walle. The make it out of the infirmary slowly and into the wide dome like main room without incident for which Dick is thankful, it is taking a lot of his concentration just to remember to breathe through the pain. The room is deserted, surprising for the Team, there is usually always someone around. However, Dick finds the vacancy slightly comforting because he doesn't want to be bombarded by everyone. He just wants Cassandra. Walle heads in the direction of the kitchen across the room and Dick follows on his heels once again glad its Walle there with him. Just inside the door frame Walle weaves to the side and leans on the counter top letting Dick stand in the doorway with an unobstructed view of Artemis and Cass sitting at the table across from each other.

Cass sits with her back to him, hunched over in jeans and a white T-shirt with her head laying on her arms and a cup of hot chocolate sitting untouched in front of her. Artemis is the first to see him from across the table, her eyes go wide and she leans back from trying to coax Cass to drink. The first thing Dick notices is the stitches on her forehead, the cut thick and red but other than that she looks healthy; the wrapping on her twisted elbow hidden by a long sleeve blue shirt. Her eyes soften and she smiles looking relieved; _glad to see you are okay too_, Dick smiles back. She leans forward again and whispers something to Cassandra across the table and she picks her head up off the table in response; her hair bouncing in a high ponytail on the top of her head. Dick's heart rate picks up beating against his broken chest suddenly nervous; _What if she is mad at me? I was horrible… I let Walle take her…_ Artemis nods and smiles at Cass encouragingly and Cass whips around in her seat to face her dad.

"Daddy!" A smile lights up her face and she jumps from the chair closing the few feet between them as fast as if she were a speedster like Walle. The crutches fall to the side hitting the tile with loud clanking as Dick goes down on a knee and catches her running into his arms. She has a tight grip around his neck only aggravating his injuries more but he doesn't care. He holds her tightly, kissing the top of her head even though his split lip stings and his chest feels tight and it hurts so much he can't really breathe, but the last thing he wants to do is let her go. She starts to pull back but he holds on a little tighter for a moment hoping he isn't crushing her. She pushes back harder and he reluctantly lets her go until she is looking at him with her small hands resting on his shoulders. Her turquoise eyes are brimmed with tears ready to spill over and her voice is small, "Auntie said you were sleeping but… but… I was scared!" A tear spills over and Dick wipes it away quickly. "You can't do that again!" Dick can't help but laugh a little at the orders she is trying to give him. "Stop laughing. No more! You can't okay?" He nods at his little girl smiling; finally feeling like he's won now that he has her back safe and sound. "You have to stay here!" He pulls her back into his arms and she buries her face in his neck.

"I'm not going anywhere sweet heart." He rests his cheek on the top of her head, frizzy black hair tickling his skin, "I promise." He looks up and sees that Walle had made his way over to stand behind Artemis and meets his eyes, "It's over." Walle nods back at him and for once Dick feels as though he can accept that it is true, however strange and unrealistic it may seem; he won.

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_A/N: If you have any ideas or concerns about my writing a sequel please message me or comment about it. I'm leaning toward doing it so I would love some preliminary ideas. Thanks! You guys are the best!_


	9. New Start

_Chapter Nine of Inherit the Night. Five months after waking up injured and shaken up from his battle with Slade Dick's life has changed more than he thought it would. Will he continue his career as a hero or decide that it is finally time to hang up the cape?_

_This is the final entry to this story! Thanks so much for reading you guys :) I'm still debating that sequel but I have some friends on my case about it so it might end up happening in a little while. You guys are great and I would love to hear any final comments. PLEASE COMMENT! I love knowing what you guys think. _

_I do not own the characters they are the property of DC Nation._

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**New Start: **

Actually stepping on his right foot feels strange after close to five months with a cast providing extra support. There is a faint shocking pain going up his leg but Dick is happy to have the thing off. His body had healed well, so had Artemis and Walle, both of them had healed faster and been on full-fledged missions again months before Dick; a fact he was extremely envious about. Restricted to recon missions, and mostly uneventful stake outs, he had become peckish for some action and now no one had any reason to keep him from it.

"How's it feel?" Walle asks from his position leaning on the opposite wall. Dick walks back and forth a little testing the resilience of his bones and muscles. After a few strides the tingly feeling from disuse seems to dissipate and Dick smiles to himself.

"Pretty good." He balances on his right leg and bounces on it, ecstatic that it doesn't give out beneath him, "Great." Dick looks up and meets Walle's curious gaze, "Point me towards the nearest bank robbery." At that Walle's eyes squint and his nose crinkles with laughter, he leans off the wall and starts heading for the infirmary door.

"Why am I not surprised?" He calls over his shoulder. Dick falls into step behind him and they cover the distance to the training room much faster than they had five months before when Dick had to hobble through the pain on crutches.

Artemis is on the training floor with Cassandra when they walk in doing some hand to hand combat simulation. It still makes Dick nervous that she has started to become an active member of the team rather than staying in the shadows like she used to with the Titans but he knows she can hold her own, at least with back up. That was just one of many changes that happened after he woke up with all those injuries. That week Bruce made him take it easy, confining him to Wayne Manor as if he was a thirteen year old again, not that Dick could really blame him. Despite knowing it was over, Dick still had a hard time fathoming a life without Star, raising Cassandra on his own, he couldn't move on by himself. Within the first month they had decided it would be best for Dick to move somewhere closer to either Walle or Bruce and Dick had chosen to go back to Gotham, closer to Bruce, which shocked no one more than Dick himself. Gotham was home though. He'd grown up and went to school there and if he couldn't be in Jump City… Gotham was where he wanted to be. With that decision made Dick had put a down payment on a condo, similar to the one they had lived in while in Jump City, and five months later they were almost completely moved in.

There was also Cassandra demanding to be allowed to help on missions. Once he began going on stake outs he sometimes brought her with him, just like he had when they were with the Titans, and she knew to stay in the shadows. Until one stake out that went slightly wrong when some kids showed up in a warehouse in the Narrows. Dick and Bruce were forced to intervene and she got forced from the shadows by gunfire. By the end of it she had taken out two of her own thugs and ever since she had that small piece of the action she wanted more. He had always assumed that she would take up her own mantel someday, after all it was in her blood, but that day wasn't supposed to have come so soon. She was supposed to be much older, not that anyone, including Cass, considered that a valid objection considering he became Robin when he was nine years old – Cassandra's current age. It was no use fighting her about it either, she was stubborn and every bit as determined to get out there as Dick had been when he was nine and Bruce was telling him no.

Then he had to decide whether or not he wanted to continue being a hero. He hadn't really taken that much of a break despite Bruce's semi-successful attempts to confine him to research and computer work. He went on so many recon missions because he wanted to get back out there and make sure he still had what it took to be a hero. Of course he usually had someone with him; usually Bruce or Walle and sometimes even a new teenager Bruce had taken in named Jason whom they were trying to figure out what exactly to do with. Tracking and studying the criminals was just as natural as it had always been; he was still the detective he had always been. The decision to do it was the easy part, who to be was the tough one. Robin wasn't for him anymore. Dick couldn't wear that suit he had taken to wearing black training gear on the recon missions he was allowed on; something about the black and the new mask felt right. It was a look he could see himself in, a new look for a new start.

The sound of laughing girls brings Dick back from reminiscing on the last few months. He follows the sound down to the mat where Artemis and Cassandra are both laying on the ground next to each other cracking up over something that he obviously missed. He looks to Walle hoping for an explanation but he's doubled over laughing himself. Dick laughs a little to himself for no reason in particular and spins around looking for anyone to explain what is going on. Cassandra rolls over on her side toward Artemis and tries to talk through her laughter but it comes out disconnected and breathy. Artemis attempts to respond but she's laughing so hard she can't even get a whole word out.

"I'm… so… haha… so…" Cassandra tries to spit something out but she can't keep her giggles under control.

"How?... I… haha… fell… on… haha… okay…" Dick looks at the two of them completely baffled even more confused by Artemis's reply. He laughs a little harder watching the two of them rolling on the floor.

"Why is everyone laughing?" Dick spins around hearing Bruce behind him. Everyone's laughter significantly subsides with the exception of a few stray chuckles from Artemis and Cassandra picking themselves up off the ground. Bruce fixes his glare on the two girls for a moment and then looks back to Dick still waiting for an answer.

"Don't ask me." Dick shrugs and turns back to look at the girls, "I missed whatever it was." He shakes his head at Artemis a little hoping she will explain. She puts her hand on Cassandra's shoulder and looks down at her smiling.

"This one somehow figured out how to flip me over!" Artemis laughs again and Cass smiles sheepishly, "On accident." Dick smiles to himself now with the mental image of Cass flipping Artemis over her head.

"I told you I was sorry!"

"Don't be! That was great." Artemis puts her hands on her hips and leans down closer to Cassandra's face. "I just don't understand how you did it… you are half my size!" Cassandra laughs and shakes her head.

"Hey I was little too and I was taking down guys as big as Bats over here…" Dick uses his thumb to point over his shoulder in Bruce's direction and walks over to Cass, smiling down at her. "She was never any match for you." He motions to Artemis with his head making Cass smile back.

"Hey!" Artemis punches him in the shoulder, "Want me to dislocate that shoulder again, huh, Bird Boy?" Dick holds his hands up in surrender as Artemis walks over to Walle and they head out of the room with their arms around each other. Bruce catches Dick's eye and motions toward the main ops computer. Dick puts his hand on the top of Cassandra's head and tilts her face up to his.

"Think you can go grab your stuff and get ready to go?" She frowns and looks up and him with an annoyed expression in her eyes. She stands there staring up at him for a minute, her arms hanging by her sides, sweat still dotting her upper lip, nose, and forehead. "Please?" She sighs and nods mumbling something about being able to come back tomorrow and runs across the training floor to grab her water bottle and a small gym bag to go change.

Bruce is looking up at the giant computer screen covered in information regarding Black Mask when Dick walks up behind him. "How's your leg?" He doesn't take his eyes from the screen and Dick leans on the consol with his back toward the screen.

"It's good."

"I see Cassandra is learning quickly." A flutter of nerves and pride flushes through Dick thinking of his daughter as a vigilante like him and Bruce.

"Well I guess she really is a Bat Brat after all." Dick looks at Bruce quickly, satisfied to see a rare tight smile on his face which vanishes quickly as if it had never been. "I'm going to have to find her a uniform, and a name." Dick stares back at the floor realizing for the first time that he has to worry about creating an alter ego for her and himself.

"Speaking of, have you decided on anything for yourself?" Bruce begins typing something into the consol and Dick looks down at himself; clad completely in black.

"I'm not going back to Robin if that's what you are asking." Bruce ignores the comment and continues looking at whatever new piece of information he pulled up. Dick looks down at his chest, "I'm going to stick to this but…" He pulls at the fabric over his chest, "It's missing something." He looks Bruce again the bat on his chest catching his eye. "There's no symbol."

"That's an easy fix…" Bruce breaks his unfaltering stare at the screen and meets Dick's eyes. With his mask pulled back, and Bruce looking him in the eye, it feels as though they are having a conversation more as father and son rather than student and teacher. "Who do you want to be? What do you want Dick?" Dick drops his gaze and stares down at his feet remembering a conversation he had with Star years before.

"You know, I thought about giving up Robin and becoming someone else five, maybe six, years ago." Out of the corner of his eye Dick can see that Bruce is still watching him, something that surprises Dick a little bit. "I wasn't ready to let Robin go then but now..." He scratches his arm nervously, still uncomfortably saying the words out loud, "Now I am. You should let Jason have it." Bruce's eyes widen a bit and his face becomes more serious than it had been.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It just seems right" Saying it aloud Dick knows it is what he really means, "Robin is Batman's partner." _Someone I haven't been for years;_ Bruce nods and crosses his arms over his chest.

"What does that make you?" Dick looks up at the ceiling, following its smooth surface to the vertex of the dome above the center of the room. "Or should I say_ who _does that make you?" Dick drops his gaze back to his boots and inhales.

"When I was first thinking about hanging up Robin's cape Star and I came up with a couple names and looks just to see if I liked any of them. Star came up with one name…" Dick pauses for a moment and remembers the papers sprawled all over the table with doodles and sketches of new symbols. He thinks of the one that they had both liked the most, a blue bird with long pointed wings. "Nightwing." Bruce smiles and exhales a little, a sound that almost sounded like a laugh.

"What?"

"Nightwing… wing?" Dick shakes his head at Bruce not sure what he is trying to point out. "Sticking to the flying animal theme?" Dick laughs a little himself upon noticing the motif.

"What can I say?" Dick stands up and moves to walk away seeing Cassandra come out of the hallway on the other side of the domed room, "I may not be your partner anymore but I guess I'm still a Bat Brat."


End file.
